Tougher Ohio cockfighting laws

John Goodwin of the Human Society of the United States said Ohio has some of the weakest cockfighting laws in the nation.

Goodwin, Humane Society's manager of animal fighting issues, visited the Toledo Area Humane Society in Maumee Wednesday. He pushed for tougher laws in the Buckeye State.

A bill in the Ohio House that would make cockfighting a felony but legislation has not been voted on.

"It has no socially redeemable value," he said. "It's done just for gambling and blood lust. Every time they raid a cockfight, they find narcotics, illegal gambling, they find gang members. You don't want a weak penalty that draws that sort of people into your state."

While you may not hear much about cockfighting in Northwest Ohio, Goodwin said there are crime rings in southern Ohio.

In an August 2006 posting on his organization's Web site, he said due to lax laws cock-fighters flock to Ohio, Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, and West Virginia.