BOISE -- Idaho lawmakers could make running a cockfighting operation a felony, two years after passing a similar law against dogfighting.
A bill targeting this blood sport was introduced Thursday in the Senate. Anybody found guilty would face up to five years in prison and $50,000 in fines, if it passes.
Idaho is among 11 states where cockfighting remains a misdemeanor, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Cockfighting rings, while rare, have been discovered in Idaho, including in a 2008 raid on a dairy farm near Wendell where authorities seized 20 fighting cocks after an anonymous tip.
Sen. Tim Corder, a Mountain Home Republican, worked with the Humane Society and livestock groups on this bill, which also boosts punishment for animal cruelty and torture, while leaving those crimes a misdemeanor.
Normal animal husbandry or slaughter practices are still protected.
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