Michael Vick Becomes An Animal RIghts Activist
Montgomery, AL – Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has decided to get on the other side of the animal fighting issue. He is currently in Alabama urging the State government to pass tougher laws against cokfighting.
Vick issued a statement Monday saying that Alabama’s laws are the weakest in the country. In Alabama getting caught fighting two roosters to the death will land you a $50.00 fine. Vick has been outspoken against animal cruelty since he served 16 months in federal prison on a dog-fighting conviction.
Vick is quick to say that he does not want anyone to have to go through what he did and he wants people to consider the animals.
Sen. Cam Ward introduced a bill that would upgrade the state’s penalty for illegal cockfighting to a class A misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $6,000. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee early in the session, but the Senate Rules Committee refused to bring up the bill for a vote.
A cockfight is a bloody battle between two roosters, held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and most of Europe. Cockfighting is considered a blood sport by animal welfare and animal rights activist and others, due in some part to the physical trauma the cocks inflict on each other. Advocates of the sportoften list cultural and religious relevance as reasons for perpetuation of cockfighting as a sport.
At the time of his conviction, Michael Vick was forced to return more than $100 million dollars in salary when he was released form his contract by the Atlanta Falcons and sent to prison for dog fighting.
