BILL NUMBER: S5337

SPONSOR: WEIK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to adding animal fighting as
a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption

 
PURPOSE:

To define animal fighting as a criminal act when referring to enterprise
corruption.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends subdivision 1 of section 460.10 of the penal law to
include subdivision 2 of section 351 of the agriculture and markets law
as a criminal act when referring to enterprise corruption.

Section 2. Establishes effective date.

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

Animal fighting fuels some of the most violent enterprises which corrupt
our neighborhoods. Apart from the well-established social science link
between violence against animals and violence against people, the New
York law enforcement community has seen first-hand that vigorous inves-
tigation and prosecution of animal fighting exposes gang networks,
narcotics rings, weapons trafficking activity, and other sophisticated
and violent criminal enterprises. Animal fighting is the pitting of two
dogs against each other for amusement or gain. It can also be the
pitting of a dog against another type of animal (even a human. While
money need not be exchanged to qualify the act as illegal, there is
indeed a significant financial machine behind this disgusting "blood
sport." According to some estimates, dog fighting is a billion-dollar
underground economy - just in the United States. Some studies put the
United States' share of this enterprise at a full third of the global
dog fighting economy. Money is not only made by abhorrent wagers on the
outcomes of fights, but also through the illicit breeding, marketing,
trading, and sale of dogs. Professional fighters will market the blood-
lines of their winners, make money off of forced breeding sessions
(whether successful or not), and sell litters as fast as they can be
produced. The underground industry is such that, besides the fighters,
there are individuals who specialize as "promoters" of fights, as breed-
ers, as trainers, and as sellers. Because the activity must go unde-
tected, there is also a strong subversive demand for medications,
specialized equipment, veterinary services, and "dark web" communication
platforms (unregistered Internet sites, invisible to public view. Anoth-
er awful truth of this already atrocious enterprise is that fighters
will sometimes steal animals from their surrounding community - small
dogs or cats - to use for bait or training for their kennels.

This is not a distant problem. It is happening in virtually every corner
of the state. As law enforcement has grown more attuned to its
detection, fighting rings have been targeted and brought down, and,
along with those rings, law enforcement has seized guns and heroin,
uncovered domestic abuse and child abuse, and rescued countless dogs
from a lifetime of torture.

However, the methodologies of detection are still lacking - for no
justifiable purpose besides oversight. Despite being an inherently
"social" activity (i.e. more than one defendant must be involved),
animal fighting is currently not an enterprise crime eligible-offense.
This bill will allow animal fighting charges to be eligible for an
enterprise corruption charge in applicable circumstances. By including
animal fighting as an eligible offense, law enforcement and prosecutors
will gain valuable tools in combating this heinous category of crime.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S6112 Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.