Group responds to authorities uncovering a cockfighting and marijuana operation in the Antelope Valley

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, July 22, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation issued the following statement in response to Los Angeles County authorities uncovering a cockfighting and marijuana operation in the Antelope Valley, with the seizure of 228 birds and 500 pounds of marijuana according to sources:

“Cockfighting and illegal trafficking of drugs run hand in hand,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action.

“The northern, remote parts of Los Angeles County have long been a hotspot for illegal cockfighting operations, and here we see this plain evidence of this organized criminal activity again. We are grateful to law enforcement and other key players for shutting down this operation. We ask the public to send up tips on illegal cockfighting operations at info@animalwellnessaction.org.”

California’s anti-cockfighting law provides only for misdemeanor penalties, while every state bordering California treats the offense as a felony. It is also a federal crime to engage in a wide range of cockfighting activities, including possession of animals for fighting. Los Angeles County has an ordinance banning private ownership of large numbers of roosters, as do Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties in the Southland.

California showed up as the second biggest shipper of fighting birds to the U.S. territory of Guam in an investigation of cockfighting shipments to the remote western Pacific island.

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies, and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

The Animal Wellness Foundation is a Los Angeles-based private charitable organization with a mission of helping animals by making veterinary care available to everyone with a pet, regardless of economic ability. We organize rescue efforts and medical services for dogs and cats in need and help homeless pets find a loving caregiver. We are advocates for getting veterinarians to the front lines of the animal welfare movement; promoting responsible pet ownership; and vaccinating animals against infectious diseases such as distemper. We also support policies that prevent animal cruelty and that alleviate suffering. We believe helping animals helps us all.

WAYNE PACELLE
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION
+1 202-420-0446
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