Bill Reducing Violations Of Cockfighting From Felony To Misdemeanor Moves To Senate

State representatives have passed a house bill that would drop the penalties for cockfighting from a felony to a misdemeanor.

On Monday, the bill was rejected by a single vote. The legislature voted again Tuesday at the author's request and passed it by a single vote.

"Members, what this bill simply does is just decreases the crime of fighting chickens from a felony to a misdemeanor," said State Representative Justin Humphrey.

Animal activists met to discuss their concerns with the bill.

Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said the bill would allow criminals to get away with more crime.

"This bill should be labeled a criminal enhancement reform, they are trying to get a license to violate the law," Edmondson said.

Representative Humphrey said that other state questions and laws have turned other serious crimes into misdemeanors and he believes, cockfighting should be the same.

"It made heroin a misdemeanor, it made fentanyl a misdemeanor, it made all kinds of crimes that had been a felony, so I think this one would be exactly the same," he said.

Edmondson said reducing the penalty is troublesome and they are not just trying to protect roosters, but also Oklahomans.

"When I think of all of the people who attend those cockfights, year in and year out, I am concerned about the violence that would result, not just to the roosters themselves, but to children," Edmondson said.

The bill now heads to the Senate.