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BILL NUMBER: SB 732	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT


	CHAPTER  256
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 1, 2003
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 19, 2003
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JULY 24, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 1, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 17, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 4, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 21, 2003


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Soto
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Benoit, Koretz, Levine, and Yee)


                        FEBRUARY 21, 2003


   An act to amend Sections 597b, 597c, 597i, and 597j of the Penal
Code, relating to animals.

	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

   SB 732, Soto.  Cockfighting.
   Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to aid, abet, or be present at
a cockfight; to own, possess, keep, or train any cock with intent
that it be used for fighting; or to manufacture, buy, sell, or
possess cockfighting implements.
   This bill would instead provide that these offenses are punishable
as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not
to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed  $5,000, or by both that
imprisonment and fine.  This bill would also specify that a 2nd or
subsequent conviction of specified animal fighting provisions is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for  a period
not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $25,000, or by both
that imprisonment and fine, except in unusual circumstances where the
interests of justice would be better served by the imposition of a
lesser sentence.  The bill would also provide that aiding and
abetting a cockfight shall consist of something more than merely
being present or a spectator at a place where that fighting is
occurring.  Because this bill would change the definition of various
crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 597b of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597b.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any person who,
for amusement or gain, causes any bull, bear, or other animal, not
including any dog, to fight with like kind of animal or creature, or
causes any animal, including any dog, to fight with a different kind
of animal or creature, or with any human being; or who, for amusement
or gain, worries or injures any bull, bear, dog or other animal, or
causes any bull, bear, or other animal, not including any dog, to
worry or injure each other; and any person who permits the same to be
done on any premises under his or her charge or control; and any
person who aids, abets, or is present at  the fighting or worrying of
  an animal or creature, as a spectator, is guilty of a misdemeanor.


   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any person who, for amusement
or gain, causes any cock to fight with another cock or with a
different kind of animal or creature or with any human being; or who,
for amusement or gain, worries or injures any cock, or causes any
cock to worry or injure another animal; and any person who permits
the same to be done on any premises under his or her charge or
control, and any person who aids or abets the fighting or worrying of
any cock is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment
and fine.
   (c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section, Section
597c, or Section 597j is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine, except in unusual circumstances where the
interests of justice would be better served by the imposition of a
lesser sentence.
   (d) For the purposes of this section, aiding and abetting a
violation of this section shall consist of something more than merely
being present or a spectator at a place where a violation is
occurring.
  SEC. 2.  Section 597c of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597c.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), whoever owns,
possesses, keeps, or trains any animal, with the intent that the
animal shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting, or is present
at any place, building, or tenement, where preparations are being
made for an exhibition of the fighting of animals, with the intent to
be present at that exhibition, or is present at  that exhibition, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), whoever owns, possesses,
keeps, or trains any cock or other bird, with the intent that the
cock or other bird shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting is
guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed  five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
   (c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section, Section
597b, or Section 597j is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine, except in unusual circumstances where the
interests of justice would be better served by the imposition of a
lesser sentence.
   (d) This section shall not apply to an exhibition of fighting of a
dog with another dog.
  SEC. 3.  Section 597i of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597i.  (a) It shall be unlawful for anyone to manufacture, buy,
sell, barter, exchange, or have in his or her possession any of the
implements commonly known as gaffs or slashers, or any other sharp
implement designed to be attached in place of the natural spur of a
gamecock or other fighting bird.
   (b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section
is guilty of a  misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine
and upon conviction thereof shall, in addition to any judgment or
sentence imposed by the court, forfeit possession or ownership of
those implements.
  SEC. 4.  Section 597j of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   597j.  (a) Any person who owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any
bird or animal with the intent that it be used or engaged by himself
or herself, by his or her vendee, or by any other person in an
exhibition of fighting is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by
a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
   (b) This section shall not apply to an exhibition of fighting of a
dog with another dog.
   (c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section, Section
597b, or Section 597c is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine, except in unusual circumstances where the
interests of justice would be better served by the imposition of a
lesser sentence.
  SEC. 5.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently paid for a billboard in Idaho Falls, Idaho, picturing a child eating a hamburger with the copy “Feeding kids meat is child abuse.”

An Idaho radio station decided to protest the billboard by holding a barbecue beneath it. According to KIDK 3, several dozen people gathered under the billboard for a “meat fest barbecue to protest PETA.”

Sources:

People gather to protest a PETA billboard. Joly Thomas, KIDK 3, September 17, 2003.

Idaho falls radio station plans PETA protest. Associated Press, September 15, 2003.

This Is Hertfordshire reported that on September 12 a seventeen year old animal rights activist plead guilty to nine charges related to throwing tea and tea bags at medical researchers as they drove past the National Institute for Medical Research.

According to This is Hertfordshire, the young woman has regularly stood outside the NIMR building for the pat two years as part of an ongoing protest against animal research.

On August 5 she was arrested for throwing tea at a researcher who was riding by on a bicycle and threw a tea bag onto the windshield of a car being driven by another researcher. She was arrested and charged with criminal damage, assault, interfering with motor vehicles, aggravated trespass and harassment, and causing alarm and distress.

The young woman received a nine month probation period, has to write letters of apology to the cyclist and driver, and must pay 30 pound compensation to the cyclist as well as court costs.

Source:

Animal rights activist, 17, brews up trouble. Sophie Kummer, This Is Hertfordshire, September 16, 2003.

While many animal rights activists and groups were cheering the bombs set off at Chiron Corp. in August, Friends of Animals did quickly issue a press release condemning both that bombing specifically and extremist actions in general.

Friends of Animals’ said,

On Saturday the 30th of August, an obscure group called the Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility for the two small explosive devices that went off early Thursday morning at the Chiron Corp. buildings in Emeryville, reportedly in protest against the firms’ relationship with animal research group Huntingdon Life Sciences. The blasts did not injure anyone, but a handful of Chiron employees were reportedly in the building.

“Vandalism, arson, explosives, and threats have no place in a movement for animal rights,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals.

“Such irresponsible acts are unacceptable in any movement for the betterment of society, and we categorically denounce them.”

. . .

“Clearly there is a tremendous social value in informing the public about the detriments of cross-species transplantation and other biotech research using animals, and in bringing the urgent and multi-layered ethical problems into the open,” said Priscilla Feral. “But this can only be done by education. It cannot be done through acts of intimidation or the endangerment of works.”

Unfortunately Friends of Animals was apparently in the minority of animal rights opinion about the Chiron bombing (it was the only group, to my knowledge, that bothered to issue a condemnation of the attack).

Source:

Friends of Animals condemns Friday’s pipe bomb attack in the city of Emeryville, California. Friends of Animals, August 2003.

Previously I mentioned statements that Andrea Lindsay made to KGO-TV about the bombing of Chiron Corp., apparently identifying herself as a SHAC spokesperson. KRON 4 also ran a story featuring additional comments by Lindsay justifying that and other animal rights extremist activities.

KRON identifies Lindsay as being part of the Animal Rights Direct Action Coalition and quotes her as saying of the Chiron bombing,

Tentatively, I would say yes [it was justified], it caused economic damage and no people were hurt and it did cause damage to Chiron, which is fantastic.

KRON also asked Lindsay what she though of activist harassment of Laurent Manrique. Manrique’s restaurant/shop, which served foie gras, was severely vandalized in an action that also damaged surrounding shops. The most disturbing aspect of the actions against Manrique, however, were activists who stationed themselves outside his home and videotaped him and his family going about their routine and then mailed the videotape to Manrique with a letter notifying the family they were being watched. As Manrique put it, “I freaked out and my wife started to panic.”

For Lindsay, however, this is all in a day’s work for the committed activist,

The things happening to the foie gras chefs I certainly support. I think that they don’t have any right to go home and feel comfortable while they’re inflicting suffering on innumerable animals.

Ah that trademarked animal rights compassion at work again.

Source:

Is radical activism effective? KRON, August 28, 2003.

Outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis recently signed into law a bill that will significantly increase fines against those convicted of cockfighting, but likely not have much real impact because it does not increase possible jail time nor elevate cockfighting to a felony.

Under current California law, cockfighting is a misdemeanor with a maximum $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Effective January 1, 2004, however, the fine for a first offense is raised to a maximum of $5,000 and a second offense to $25,000.

The impetus for the bill was the 2002 outbreak of Newcastle disease in California which some blamed on the large number of illegal cockfighting operations in California. An expert on poultry from the University of California extension testified against that notion, however, and language to that effect was removed from the bill by its sponsor.

Originally the bill was written to elevate cockfighting to a felony, but legislators balked at that because of the implications it might have for California’s three strikes law. Without felony status backed up with longer terms in jail, however, police are unlikely to devote limited resources to cracking down on cockfighting in California./

The full text of the bill can be read here.

In September, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified an individual it wants to question in connection with the explosion of bombs at Chiron Corp. in Emeryville, California.

Bjorn Einertsen, 26 was being sought for questioning after witnesses reported that a 1986 Dodge van with license plates registered to Einertsen was seen leaving the scene after the bombing. Einertsen is only wanted for questioning at the moment, and is not necessarily a suspect in the bombing.

In 2001 Einertsen was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer at a house party in Portland, Oregon.

The FBI initially also sought Sweet Mensoff, 28 and Joni Ruppel, 22. Mensoff contacted the FBI and told the that she had been at a nightclub at the time of the bombing. She apparently was sought for questioning because she had previously allowed Einertsen to use her residence as a mailing address.

Ruppel lives in New York and told ABC New she hadn’t left New York since April of 2003. Like Wesoff, she had in the past allowed Einertsen to use her residence in Oregon as a mailing address last year.

Sources:

Possible Emeryville Bombing Suspect? ABC-7, September 4, 2003.

Bomb suspects still at large Guy Ashley, Contra Costa Times, September 4, 2003.

Portland man wanted in bio-tech bombings. KOIN.Com, September 3, 2003.

Alibi about Chiron said to satisfy FBI. Guy Ashley, Contra Costa Times, September 6, 2003.

In a September 9 press release, the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights announced they that Paula Kislak, DVM, was elected as the next president of the animal rights group. He succeeds AVAR co-founder Nedim Buyukmihci.

According to the press release,

Dr. Kislak, a vegan, has been an AVAR board member since 1998 and was on its advisory board prior to that. She is considered by many as an “activist’s [sic] activist” because of her involvement with many animal rights issues. For example, Dr. Kislak has been an anti-greyhound racing activist since 1992, she was instrumental in passing California’s sweeping animal shelter reform law of 1998, and she continues to assist with efforts to help animals both locally and in Sacramento. She is a consultant and on boards of several groups, including Santa Barbara Animal Rescue, Animalkind and Neva Foundation.

In September 2000 Kislak wrote an op-ed for the Northern Virginia Journal complaining that animal issues were left out of the presidential election debates,

Nonhumans are, and always have been, systematically left out of election debates and platforms. We wonder how it is that life can only revolve around one species and the interests of the millions of other species aren’t even worthy of notice by a presidential candidate.

We call this “speciesism,” which is a prejudice against other species. This assumes that we humans are the pinnacle of the evolutionary scale. Nonhumans don’t vote, but our children don’t either. Yet, when it comes to all the rhetoric about protecting the downtrodden, the vulnerable and those whose interests are often overlooked, those that are the most vulnerable aren’t even in the discussion.

Sources:

Santa Barbara veterinarian to lead national veterinary group focusing on animal rights. Press Release, Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, September 9, 2003.

Animal protection should have higher campaign profile. Paula Kislak, Northern Virginia Journal, September 2000.

Having been banned, at least temporarily, from protesting close to Huntingdon Life Sciences or its customers, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty activists in Great Britain have turned to the next obvious target — a company that they claim sells HLS cleaning supplies.

The Evening Telegraph reported that about 15 SHAC activists protested outside of Industrial Supplies in Waterworks Lane, Glinton.

SHAC activist Gail Record, 37, told the Evening Telegraph,

We’ll continue our peaceful demonstrations until the company stops supplying HLS — whether it takes a week a month, or even a year. Our new strategy is to target all those companies which supply HLS, because they help to keep them in business. We have been successful with this strategy, and the suppliers are dropping like flies. Campaigning in this way also helps to keep the issue in the public eye.

SHAC also delivered to the UK government a petition it claimed held the signatures of one million people demanding the closure of HLS. Greg Avery told The Evening Telegraph,

This is a massive petition that shows the level of support for the closure of this hell-hole. We are more determined than ever, and absolutely committed to forcing the closure of this lab, so that no more animals suffer.

Avery himself, of course, has served time in jail for the very sort of harassment that led to the injunction against protests near HLS.

Source:

Animal Testing: ‘Campaign goes on’ say activists. The Evening Telegraph, September 5, 2003.

In April 2000, Erin Abbott was one of a number of activists who used watercraft to dart in and out of an exclusion zone set up by the Coast Guard during the Makah whale hunt. Abbott’s watercraft collided with a Coast Guard boat that attempted to shield a Makah canoe in the exclusion zone.

Activists at the time likened the collision to attempted murder on the part of the Coast Guard and, incredibly, Abbott sued the Coast Guard over the injuries.

Not surprisingly, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that a judge has dismissed Abbott’s lawsuit saying that she was “wholly responsible” for the injuries she sustained.

According to the Post-Intelligencer, Judge Franklin Burgess said in his ruling that,

Ms. Abbott thus not only intentionally violated the MEZ (exclusionary zone), which she knew was in effect, and pled guilty to negligent endangerment of life at sea, and violated the rules of the road, but she violated safe operating practices, good seamanship, federal regulation and common sense in making high-speed passes with a personal watercraft in the vicinity of a canoe, a vessel engaged in a completely lawful activity in the open ocean with little freeboard.

Abbott was sentenced to just 120 hours of community service on the negligent endangerment charge.

Source:

Judge throws out whaling protester’s lawsuit against Coast Guard Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 6, 2003.