Sponsors (19)
The bill strengthens tools and clarifies the law to stop animal fighting and empowers private enforcement, but it also raises financial penalties, restricts interstate transport of roosters, and adds procedural limits that may burden commerce and delay private suits.
Residents, local governments, and law enforcement gain stronger tools to stop and deter animal fighting because the bill bans sponsoring/exhibiting/attending/gambling on fights and creates private civil enforcement (injunctions and penalties) allowing citizens to seek remedies when agencies do not act.
The bill clarifies coverage by defining 'rooster' (male Gallus domesticus older than six months), reducing ambiguity in prosecutions and enforcement.
Individuals found liable could face monetary fines and seizure of real property used to facilitate violations, increasing legal and financial risks for defendants and potentially for taxpayers if enforcement costs rise.
Prohibiting use of the Postal Service or interstate transportation to move roosters could disrupt legitimate interstate poultry shipments and impose enforcement burdens on shippers and rural communities.
Private citizen suits are subject to a 60-day notice requirement and are barred when the Secretary or the United States is already prosecuting, which may delay private enforcement and complicate parallel actions for would-be private plaintiffs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds roosters to federal animal-fighting bans, prohibits related gambling and interstate/postal transport, and creates a civil citizen-suit and property-seizure remedy.
Introduced April 10, 2025 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress April 10, 2025
Expands federal prohibitions on animal fighting to explicitly cover roosters, gambling on fights, sponsoring or exhibiting animals in fights, and causing minors to attend. Adds a ban on transporting roosters via the Postal Service or other interstate instrumentalities and creates a private civil enforcement path: citizens can sue to stop violations, courts can fine up to $5,000 per violation, and property used to facilitate violations can be civilly seized, subject to notice and limits when federal enforcement is already underway.