Lawmakers in the state of South Carolina are considering a ban on bloodsport fights between hogs and dogs, but an opponent fears it would send the state down the road of banning all animal sports, such as hunting and dog shows.
"They're stamping out rabbit hunting in England," hog-dog supporter John Foley warned a Senate panel on Wednesday, noting the wider efforts of animal-rights activists. He cited specifically Britain's decision last year to outlaw the use of dogs to kill foxes.
But the sponsor of the measure said hog-dog fights have nothing to do with sport and hunting.
"It's nothing but cruelty to animals," said Senator Larry Grooms, a Republican whose bill calls for fines of US$5,000 or up to five years in prison for people who stage or attend hog-dog events.
"These folks aren't a benefit to society when they get perverse pleasure out of watching something like that -- they may well strike out against humans," Grooms said. "They're going to beat their wives. They're going to beat their children."
Grooms said people involved cut the tusks from hogs and leave them with no defense to dogs.
Foley responded that it is common to cut hog tusks so they aren't a threat to handlers. He added that dogs need to be protected while they learn to lawfully hunt the feral hogs that destroy crops and wildlife habitat.
"If you really want to train a dog, don't you want to train the dog in a realistic circumstance with a hog with tusks?" asked Senator John Hawkins, a Republican chairing the panel.
Foley said he wants his son "to be able to ride a bicycle, but I start out with training wheels. I don't throw him out there on a Harley."
Critics of the fights say the ills go beyond cruelty. Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Council, said gambling and drugs are often tied to animal fighting.
"We believe that hog-dog fighting is simply bad for families and doesn't belong in South Carolina," he told the panel.
The US Humane Society, which opposes the fights, says on its Web site that the activity is relatively in common in some southern states and has been around for more than 25 years.
MINERAL DEPOSITS: The Pacific nation is looking for new foreign partners after its agreement with Canada’s Metals Co was terminated ‘mutually’ at the end of last year Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative seafloor deposits of cobalt, nickel and copper — recently inking a cooperation deal with Cook Islands. Kiribati opened discussions with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Limin (周立民) after a longstanding agreement with leading deep-sea mining outfit The Metals Co fell through. “The talk provides an exciting opportunity to explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep-ocean resources in Kiribati,” the government said
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
The head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, was sacked yesterday, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. “The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar’s term of office,” a statement said. He is to leave his post when his successor is appointed by April 10 at the latest, the statement said. Netanyahu on Sunday cited an “ongoing lack of trust” as the reason for moving to dismiss Bar, who joined the agency in 1993. Bar, meant to
RSS