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<\/p>\nAssociation endorses ACE Act, FIGHT Act, and No Flight, No Fight Act to strengthen law enforcement tools against criminal enterprises<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 The Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association, representing sheriffs in all 67 counties across the Commonwealth, is urging members of Pennsylvania\u2019s congressional delegation to support three bipartisan measures designed to strengthen law enforcement efforts against organized animal fighting and the criminal enterprises associated with it.<\/p>\n
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In a letter sent to Pennsylvania\u2019s members of Congress, the association endorsed the Animal Cruelty Enforcement (ACE) Act (H.R. 1477), the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act (H.R. 3946\/S. 1454), and the No Flight, No Fight Act (H.R. 7371).<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganized animal fighting is not a standalone crime,\u201d said James E. Ott, sheriff of Blair County and president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association. \u201cTime and again, law enforcement investigations reveal connections to illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, illegal firearms, and other forms of organized criminal activity. These bills provide practical tools that will help law enforcement agencies dismantle criminal networks and improve public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimal fighting is always linked to illegal gambling, drug trafficking, or other criminal activity, and Congress should pass these measures to give law enforcement the tools we need to better combat these dangerous enterprises and protect our communities,\u201d said James Custer, sheriff of Fayette County.<\/p>\n
The association cited a May 2026 cockfighting raid in Chester, Pennsylvania, where law enforcement authorities arrested 25 individuals, recovered more than 50 birds, seized cash, and uncovered evidence of an organized cockfighting operation operating from a warehouse. The investigation required coordination among the Pennsylvania State Police, Chester City Police Department, the Pennsylvania SPCA, and regional tactical response personnel.<\/p>\n
According to the Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association, the Chester case demonstrates that organized animal fighting remains an ongoing threat to public safety throughout Pennsylvania and across the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese criminal enterprises routinely cross state lines, rely on interstate transportation and communications networks, and exploit gaps in enforcement that can only be addressed through strong federal partnerships,\u201d Ott wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n
The ACE Act would establish a dedicated Animal Cruelty Crimes section within the U.S. Department of Justice to improve enforcement of federal animal cruelty and animal fighting laws. The FIGHT Act would strengthen federal enforcement tools by targeting gambling associated with animal fighting, expanding criminal forfeiture authority, and providing additional mechanisms to disrupt criminal enterprises. The No Flight, No Fight Act would prohibit the shipment of roosters through the U.S. mail for animal fighting purposes, closing a loophole used by traffickers to move fighting animals domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, praised the Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association for its leadership on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association recognizes what law enforcement officers across America have seen for decades \u2014 organized animal fighting is closely tied to broader criminal activity and poses significant threats to public safety,\u201d Pacelle said. \u201cThe endorsement of these measures by sheriffs representing every county in Pennsylvania sends a powerful message that Congress should provide law enforcement with the tools needed to combat these criminal enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association noted that support for the legislation extends well beyond the animal welfare community. Nationally, the bills have earned endorsements from the National Sheriffs\u2019 Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, the National District Attorneys Association, numerous statewide sheriffs\u2019 associations, prosecutors\u2019 organizations, and other law enforcement leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs public servants charged with protecting our communities, we believe Congress should provide law enforcement with every reasonable tool available to combat organized criminal enterprises,\u201d Ott wrote. \u201cThe ACE Act, FIGHT Act, and No Flight, No Fight Act represent practical, bipartisan solutions that will strengthen public safety, support law enforcement investigations, and help dismantle criminal networks that profit from cruelty and violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Sheriffs\u2019 Association urged Pennsylvania\u2019s congressional delegation to cosponsor and advance all three measures.<\/p>\n
A fact sheet on the\u00a0FIGHT Act\u00a0can be found\u00a0here<\/a> and a poster showing the breadth of support for the measure can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Association endorses ACE Act, FIGHT Act, and No Flight, No Fight Act to strengthen law enforcement tools against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49890,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-236973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-animal-fighting-is-the-pits","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}