I am a breeder of exhibition poultry in Southeast Louisiana. After reading the pending Senate Bill 523, I believe this is just the type of legislation breeders throughout the state should oppose.

This state has had legislation in place prohibiting “cock fighting” since 2008. I can see no clear reason to expand the current legislation; especially not with a bill so ambiguous it could be dangerous to poultry breeders throughout the state. In particular I take issue with this phrase added in the re-engrossed version of the bill, “Provides that when one chicken is acting in a manner that would constitute cockfighting, then each chicken involved constitutes a separate offense.” Without proper definition, this could easily apply to any two birds, male or female in any poultry raiser’s flock in the state. It is a well-known fact that chickens naturally fight to some degree or another: Even the females will fight each other or against males. These completely natural behaviors of poultry and fowl are where the terms being “hen pecked” or top of “pecking order” were derived.

Additionally, its not unreasonable to ask that some sort of protection for the animals seized when violations occur is added to this legislation. Many of these birds, especially the hens and pullets (a young female under one year) can be successfully re-homed into back yard flocks. The males of breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association and American Bantam Association should be made available to exhibition breeders who can preserve their bloodlines. Most serious exhibition breeders pen males separately or with one or two females in a breeding pen: They would be of no risk to any person if placed in situations such as this. There is little to no need to destroy these majestic chickens just because the human that owned them misused them. If any are aggressive and beyond help, then that individual bird may be culled for safety reasons. It would be a travesty, however, to cull these birds en masse for simply being a "fighting breed" chicken.

It is my understanding, in speaking with representatives of the Louisiana Game Breeders Association, that they have an amendment that would fix many of the issues with this current bill. I firmly believe that these birds should be perfectly legal to possess when kept strictly for pleasure, meat/eggs, or exhibition. Additionally, it is my belief that many of the items of paraphernalia associated with cock fighting are highly collectible since they are cultural heritage items in many areas of the state. I would like to see vintage or antique items, displayed as collections removed from the stipulations within the bill.

It is my sincerest hope that Louisiana will remain a poultry and fowl friendly state. There is a growing “backyard chicken” movement throughout the state, and via proper education and guidance, all breeds of chicken can be successfully kept, including game breeds