Crimes and Offenses General Provisions: Amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Gambling Offenses, So as to Change Certain Provisions Relating to Dogfighting; Prohibit Dogfighting and Related Conduct; Provide for Punishments; Define a Term; Provide for Applicability; Amend Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Animals, So as to Change Certain Provisions Relating to Definitions Relative to Chapter 8 of Said Title; Change Certain Provisions Relating to Caring for an Impounded Animal; Change Certain Provisions Relating Failure to Respond, Right to Hearing, Care, and Crime Exception; Change Certain Provisions Relating to Filing a Report Regarding Animal Cruelty and Immunity; Provide for Related Matters; to Provide an Effective Date; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Citation | Vol. 25 No. 1 |
Georgia State University Law Review
Article 4
3-21-2012
CRIMES AND OFFENSES General Provisions: Amend Part 1 ofArticle 2 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code ofGeorgia Annotated, relating to gambling offenses, so as to change certain provisions relating to dogfighting; prohibit dogfighting and related conduct; provide for punishments; define a term; provide for applicability; amend Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to animals, so as to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to Chapter 8 of said title; change certain provisions relating to caring for an impounded animal; change certain provisions relating failure to
Recommended Citation
Georgia State University Law Review (2008) "CRIMES AND OFFENSES General Provisions: Amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to gambling offenses, so as to change certain provisions relating to dogfighting; prohibit dogfighting and related conduct; provide for punishments; define a term; provide for applicability; amend Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to animals, so as to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to Chapter 8 of said title; change certain provisions relating to caring for an impounded animal; change certain provisions relating failure to respond, right to hearing, care, and crime exception; change certain provisions relating to filing a report regarding animal cruelty and immunity; provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes," Georgia State University Law Review: Vol. 25: Iss. 1, Article 4. Available at: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol25/iss174
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respond; right to hearing, care, and crime exception; change certain provisions relating to filing a report regarding animal cruelty and immunity; provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes
Georgia State University Law Review
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CRIMES AND OFFENSES
General Provisions: Amend Part 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to gambling offenses, so as to change certain provisions relating to dogfighting; prohibit dogfighting and related conduct; provide for punishments; define a term; provide for applicability; amend Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to animals, so as to change certain provisions relating to definitions relative to Chapter 8 of said title; change certain provisions relating to caring for an impounded animal; change certain provisions relating to failure to respond, right to hearing, care, and crime exception; change certain provisions relating to filing a report regarding animal cruelty and immunity; provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
Code Section: Bill Number: Act Number: Georgia Laws: Summary:
Effective Date:
O.C.G.A. § 16-12-37 (amended)
HB301
408
2008 Ga. Laws 114
The bill seeks to toughen Georgia's dogfighting laws, which are some of the weakest in the United States. The bill mandates harsher penalties for those knowingly involved in the fighting of dogs, while also introducing penalties for spectators who are caught attending dogfights. May 6,2008
History
Dogfighting in Georgia: A Problem Long Before Michael Vick
On Monday August 27, 2007, Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback and one-time face of the National Football League,
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Georgia State University Law Review, Vol. 25 [2008], Iss. 1, Art. 4 32 GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 25:1
pleaded guilty in United States District Court to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges.1 Vick's plea was met with public outcry, and many Georgia citizens expressed their disgust that Vick was involved in such an inhumane, barbaric activity.2 For years, however, due to incredibly weak laws prohibiting dogfighting in the state, this sort of activity has occurred right under the noses of Georgia citizens, and the state has become a haven for dogfighting.3 In recent years, while neighboring states such as Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina toughened their dogfighting laws, Georgia legislation remained unchanged, leading to an influx of dogfighting activity from those states.4 Richard Rice, state program manager for the Humane Society of the United States, claimed "Georgia has one of the weakest dogfighting laws in the country."5 Prior to the 2008 legislative session, Georgia was one of only two states in the country where it remained legal to attend a dogfight as a spectator, and one of only three states where it remained legal to own fighting dogs.6 Even well-known country music star Willie Nelson weighed in on Georgia's dogfighting issue in a series of public service announcements that were broadcast throughout Georgia leading up to the start of the 2008 legislative session.7 With "Georgia on My Mind" playing in the background, Nelson looked into the camera and said, "Dogfighting is against the law in Georgia, but the laws are so weak, the beautiful state of Georgia has become a haven for dogfighters from around the country."8
Just how pervasive is dogfighting in Georgia? In December 1999, an Atlanta Constitution article took a serious look at what it called
1. Rusty Dornin, Vick Pleads Guilty, Apologizes, CNN.com, Aug. 27, 2007, http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/27/michael.vick/index.html.
2. See Reaction to NFL suspension of Vick?, AJC.com, Aug. 24, 2007, http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bIogs/ajc/town-talk/entries/2007/08/24/reaction_to_nfl.htal (comments to blog post indicating disgust).
3. Sandra Eckstein, Dogfight Bills Will Pass This Year, Atlanta J.-const., Jan. 6,2008, at 4M.
4. Id.
5. Sandra Eckstein, Ga. Anti-dogfighting Law Back Before Assembly, Atlanta J.-Const., Jan. 21, 2007, at M4.
6. Sandra Eckstein, Anti-dogfighting Bills Given a Better Chance, ATLANTA J.-CONST., Sept. 9, 2007, at M9.
7. Dog's Best Friend: Willie Nelson, ABCNews.com, Nov. 24, 2007, http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=3908076.
8. Id.
: CRIMES AND OFFENSES General Provisions: Amend Part 1 of Article 2008] LEGISLATIVE REVIEW 33
Georgia's "blood sport."9 The article's author described that when word got out one weekend of local police raid at a dogfight in Wayne County the department began receiving "panicked calls from several women looking for their husbands. Every man had been at a dogfight that night; the wives just weren't sure which fight had been busted."™ Furthermore, while no one can say for sure just how widespread dogfighting has become in Georgia, "the Human Society of the United States ranks Georgia as one of the sport's most active states."11 Georgia Senator Chip Rogers (R-21st) noted that the citizens of Georgia just "don't understand the scope of the [dogfighting] activity" in Georgia.
Regardless of how widespread this "sport" has become in Georgia, lawmakers in the General Assembly have thus far been reluctant to tackle the issue. The 2008 legislative session marked the fourth time in as many years that members of the State House and Senate considered passing stronger dogfighting laws in Georgia. Each prior year, however, was met with disappointment for those seeking to push through the tougher laws.
In 2007, SB 16, a bill some Georgia legislators thought was modeled after Humane Society anti-dogfighting legislation, passed the Senate unanimously.13 The bill faced resistance, however. Representative Bobby Reese (R-98th) expressed a concern shared by other House members as well as Georgia's hunting and fishing community, that SB 16 would affect the rights of hunters across the state because it referred only to "animal on animal" fighting.14 After being read only two times in the 2007 House session, SB 16 never came up for a vote.15
It appears that the Michael Vick guilty plea may have given the anti-dogfighting legislation just the boost it needed to make it out of Georgia's House and Senate and onto the Governor's desk. Senator
9. Alan Judd, Dogfighting in Georgia, a Blood Sport; Raid Focuses Spotlight on Dark, Gory Tradition, Atlanta Const., Dec. 19, 1999, at D7.
10. Id. (emphasis added).
11. Id.
12. Eckstein, supra note 5.
13. Eckstein, supra note 3; Georgia Senate Voting Record, SB 16, (Mar. 1,2007).
14. Eckstein, supra note 3. See also Telephone Interview with Rep. Bobby Reese (R-98th) (Apr. 17, 2008) [hereinafter Reese Interview].
15. SB 16 did actually pass the House and the Senate during the 2008 session, but it has become a bill mainly dealing with dog collars, not dogfighting. S...
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