Payments to Owners of Killed Birds Denounced

by Sherry Morse

Government officials and animal advocates recently have expressed objections to compensation given by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to individuals who owned birds that were killed in order to end an outbreak of a fatal and highly contagious avian disease.

The objections have been raised because among the individuals whose birds were killed to counter the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) in California, Nevada, Texas and other states are people who conducted cockfights.

"By paying owners of fighting birds at black market rates, the USDA is endorsing the practice of cockfighting," seven members of the United States Congress wrote in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman. "The government has no responsibility to compensate those engaged in illegal activities."

"We do not believe the federal government should use Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to compensate cockfighters," said Humane Society of the United States Senior Vice President Wayne Pacelle.

"There is no law against owning the birds," said Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force spokesperson Larry Cooper. "There is no law against raising the birds. The only interest we had was if we found in someone’s backyard gamecocks either infected with Exotic Newcastle or considered a dangerous contact."

Federal legislation that prohibits transporting fighting birds across state lines went into effect in May.

"It should help to minimize the spread of END and other avian diseases in the future," said farm animal advocate Rhonda Samstagg.

The possibility that fighting birds illegally smuggled into the United States from Mexico may have been responsible for the END outbreak is currently being investigated.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.