ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Georgia is the only state in the country where cockfighting is not, by law, a felony. That could change as Senate Bill 102 creeps towards passage.

The bill would outlaw cockfighting and bring it under the same state statute that makes dogfighting a felony in Georgia. It would also make bringing a minor to an organized cockfight an aggravated misdemeanor.

The brutal sport of cockfighting features roosters with gaffs — essentially razor blades or daggers — attached to their legs in a fight to the death.

“Unfortunately, it’s way more common than people are aware of,” said Jessica Rock, an animal crimes prosecutor in Georgia. “There are organized cockfights going on in the State of Georgia every weekend.”

Rock is the first and one of the only state-funded prosecutors solely dedicated to animal cruelty cases. She’s been lobbying for the passage of SB 102 after another attempt at outlawing cockfighting, SB 255, failed in the legislature last year. Rock said people would be surprised at the scale of cockfighting events in Georgia.

“You’re talking about stadium seating, concessions stands, people from multiple other states bringing trailers of birds into Georgia to fight them,” she said. “You can make upwards of $100,000 or more on a derby, which is a series of cockfights that can occur over a day.”

As of now, there’s not much law enforcement in Georgia can do to prosecute serious cases of cockfighting. Sometimes, the best they can do is charge misdemeanor animal cruelty or misdemeanor gambling. But Rock also said it can be a gateway to much more serious crimes.

“Obviously, there’s gambling involved and then unfortunately, what we see a lot of times is drug trafficking, gun trafficking and human trafficking as well,” she said.

Cockfighting is already a federal felony, but bill sponsor State Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) said he wants Georgia to be able to handle their own investigations without the help of federal investigators.

“I think it’s something we can do on our own,” he said.

Cockfighting is vastly popular in many foreign countries. Robertson said a lot of the pushback he’s getting is from people for whom cockfighting is culturally ingrained. And he understands — his family used to attend cockfights when he was young and even raised fighting roosters.

“I understand the sport very well, but you know what? There are a lot of things we did many years ago that just don’t fit into the fabric of what Georgia is today,” he said. “I think it’s time we move beyond that.”

Like Rock, Robertson believes the only other opposition to this bill is from those who are making large sums of money on the sport.

“I would think it’s because they’re making – they or somebody that they care about – is making a profit off of it,” he said.

Said Rock: “They wouldn’t want to sign onto it if they’re engaged in cockfighting. I think it’s that simple.”

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