(Harrison, OH) This story is a painful reality for animal rights supporters. The United Gamefowl Breeders Association is a tax-exempt, government-sanctioned, Ohio-based agricultural organization with 15,000 members in 28 states. The group's sole purpose is to support the breeding of fighting cocks. Although cock fighting is illegal in all but two states (LA and NM), cock breeding is not illegal.
Animal rights groups want the government to revoke the tax-exempt status of the breeders since cock fighting is immoral and mostly illegal.
"You cannot separate the breeding from the fighting," said Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. "The purpose of raising the birds is to fight them. There is no legitimate agricultural activity occurring."My only comment is that sometimes it seems that there are more people in the US concerned about the welfare of chickens then the welfare of children. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the concerned-about-chickens-crowd were childless, pro-abortion, and living with
The Internal Revenue Service says agricultural organizations include groups who cultivate land, harvest crops or aquatic resources, or raise livestock. IRS spokesman Anthony Burke said the agency had received the Humane Society's complaint but couldn't say if it was investigating.
Larry Mathews, United Gamefowl's founder and spokesman, said the group doesn't see anything wrong with cockfighting in areas where it's legal but doesn't advocate breaking the law.
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