WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, January 24, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Animal Wellness Action reacted to the shooting death of a Washington state teenager at a cockfight in Mexico, as reported by SourceOne News.

Christian Herrera, 16, was killed and his dad injured from being in the crossfire of a shootout between rival cartels on Jan. 6. It is just the latest example of outbursts of violence at cartel-controlled cockfighting arenas in Mexico that are consorting and doing business with American cockfighters.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, issued this statement:

“Violent killing is the very purpose of cockfighting, and all too often, it’s just not the animals who die,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “There is violence spillover with regularity at these spectacles, and it happens with numbing frequency at cartel-controlled fighting venues in Mexico.”

“American cockfighters are trafficking fight animals to Mexico and they are partners in these spectacles of cruelty and organized crime,” Pacelle added. “It’s time for the United States to pass the FIGHT Act to give law enforcement more tools to arrest U.S.-based cockfighters on our side of the border and halt their trade with some of the world’s worst organized criminals.”

In Mexico last year, in a spasm of cartel violence, 20 people were massacred at a cockfighting derby, including an American. The latest shooting in January claimed 6 lives and resulted in 13 others wounded.

The smuggling of cockfighting birds from Mexico was the cause of 10 of 15 outbreaks of virulent Newcastle Disease to hit the U.S. in recent decades.

The FIGHT Act, H.R. 2742/S. 1529, aims to halt the transport of mature roosters through the U.S. mail, ban simulcasting and gambling on animal fights, enhance forfeiture provisions, and empower citizens to take civil action against illegal animal fighters.

ABOUT
Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) whose mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal, state and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals. The group also works to enforce existing anti-cruelty and wildlife protection laws. Animal Wellness Action believes helping animals helps us all. X: @AWAction_News.

The Center for a Humane Economy is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) whose mission is to help animals by helping forge a more humane economic order. The first organization of its kind in the animal protection movement, the Center encourages businesses to honor their social responsibilities in a culture where consumers, investors, and other key stakeholders abhor cruelty and the degradation of the environment and embrace innovation as a means of eliminating both. The Center believes helping animals helps us all. X: @TheHumaneCenter.

WAYNE PACELLE
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION
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