On May 31, law enforcement raided an illegal cockfighting operation in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. They arrested 59 people, seized $84,000 in cash, 14 firearms, and narcotics, and rescued 164 roosters that had been bred and trained to fight. Participants had traveled from Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, and across Mississippi to attend.

The man who allowed it all to happen on his property was charged with animal cruelty and gambling. His bond was set at $3,500.

Both charges are misdemeanors.

In Mississippi, organizing or hosting a large-scale, multi-state cockfighting operation with guns and drugs on the premises carries less legal weight than many traffic violations. That is not justice for the animals who suffered. And it is not a deterrent for anyone thinking about hosting the next one.

We are calling on the Mississippi Legislature to reclassify cockfighting as a felony, with serious penalties for organizers, landowners who enable fights, and repeat offenders. Sheriff James Meyers said it himself: "Organized animal fighting and related criminal activity will not be tolerated in Chickasaw County." The law should back that up.

We are also calling on the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the Humane Society of the United States to commit to rehoming the 164 rescued roosters rather than euthanizing them. These birds are victims. They deserve a second chance, not a death sentence for surviving.

Sign if you believe the punishment should match the crime, and that the animals rescued in this raid deserve more than a footnote.