Don’t let the cockfighting industry find a home in Maryland!
Don’t let the cockfighting industry find a home in Maryland! Cockfighting is illegal in Maryland. Roosters are bred for aggression and placed in a pit to fight each other to the death with razor-sharp knives or other sharp instruments attached to their legs for amusement and gambling. Birds suffer painful deaths while spectators gamble on their fate. Marylanders overwhelmingly reject this cruelty as a sport or entertainment.
Breeding roosters is linked to the spread of Avian Flu, which has recently seen a resurgence in Maryland. Since the first outbreak, more than 2.5 million birds in Maryland commercial flocks have been killed to stop the spread of avian flu. Roosters kept in these conditions for cockfighting are a needless risk to the further spread of this devasting disease.
SB 375/HB 513 protects our communities from the adverse effects of cockfighting and Avian Flu by prohibiting a person who keeps roosters that are maintained individually and kept movement-constrained through use of an enclosure or tether from keeping more than 5 roosters per acre on a single property or more than a total of 25 roosters on a single property.
A Maryland rooster law will not affect commercial poultry operations, backyard breeders, members of 4-H or Future Farmers of America. It will protect animals, the poultry industry, and communities by cracking down on those who keep and sell roosters for cockfighting.
Let’s protect the health and safety of Marylanders by ensuring that cockfighting has no place in our state!
Please contact your legislators and ask them to SUPPORT SB 375/ HB 513!
Thank you again for being an advocate for Maryland’s animals. Remember, Maryland Votes for Animals, Inc. can only succeed with the help of animal advocates like you. Please consider making a donation to Maryland Votes for Animals at voteanimals.org/donate now, so we can continue fighting for Maryland animals.
With compassion,
Maryland Votes for Animals, Inc.