Last year, a new federal law, The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007, made the transportation of fighting animals across international or state lines illegal and increased the penalty for animal fighting to a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

Today, Joseph Marty Toralba, a resident of Louisiana, was indicted by a federal grand jury for the illegal transportation of approximately 263 fighting cocks from the Philippines to the United States. Toralba had been caught three weeks earlier by U.S. Customs Agent in the Through Honolulu Airport attempting to smuggle the cocks through customs in gas stoves.  Read More