Fowl Play: Cockfighting’s History, Impact, and Future in the US and Territories

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Thu, Aug 22nd, 2024 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM ET
Thu, Aug 22nd, 2024 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM CT
Thu, Aug 22nd, 2024 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM MT
Thu, Aug 22nd, 2024 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM PT

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The persistence of cockfighting in the U.S. territories is a serious issue, but it is not strictly a territorial one. Even though federal law makes it a crime to “knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver or receive” any chicken across state lines for fighting purposes, roosters are still transported in large numbers from state-side jurisdictions to the U.S. territories. A review of live-animal shipping records to Guam found that state-based cockfighters have sent at least 11,648 fighting birds to Guam over the last 5 years, with Hawaii being Guam’s most serious exporter. Territorial proximity to foreign jurisdictions in which cockfighting is not illegal also exacerbates the prevalence of cockfighting interests and operations in the U.S. territories. What can be done? This webinar will examine the history and pervasiveness of cockfighting in the territories, discuss reasons for local resistance to anti-animal fighting legislation and enforcement, review recent federal and local challenges to animal fighting prohibitions in the territories, and offer recommendations for disrupting cockfighting channels and operations within and outside the territories.

When responding to these cases, investigators benefit from a working knowledge of the methods individuals employ to raise and condition birds for the fight, the equipment and supplies considered evidence of the crime, and the traditional rules associated with fights, known as derbies. This webinar will also provide viewers with information that will be both practical and helpful to investigations, including crime scene processing, evidence collection, identification and protective custody for live birds, and special considerations in these unique animal cruelty cases.

Other Webinars with this Organization

Feb 13, 2024: Better Futures for Animals – And With – Animals: The Canine Cellmates Model for Post-Conviction Animal Care Programs
May 7: Tribal Law and Animal Law
Aug 22: Fowl Play: Cockfighting’s History, Impact, and Future in the US and Territories (this webinar)
Nov 5: Using Innovative Alternatives to Incarceration and Recognizing the Role of Trauma in Violence against Animals (coming soon)

Or click here to view and register for other upcoming Animal Welfare webinars on the JCH Platform.

Founded in 1979, the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.

This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.

Presenters:

Katherine Youssouf is a staff attorney with the Criminal Justice Program at Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF). Prior to joining ALDF she clerked for the Honorable Kathleen Y. Mackay at the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands District for St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She earned her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. Before becoming a lawyer, Katherine worked as a social worker addressing violence against women and violations of human rights. She also worked in private practice as a clinical neurotherapist for adult, teenage, and child victims of trauma. She has a master’s in social work and social policy (M.S.W.) from the University of Chicago in Chicago, I.L., and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, O.H.

As the Animal Cruelty Investigations Manager for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Criminal Justice Program, Linda Fielder provides prosecutors, law enforcement, veterinarians, animal control officers, and animal rescues with essential operational and forensic support on criminal animal cruelty cases. Linda leads extensive training of these entities on evidence collection, scene processing, veterinary forensics, and sheltering of protective custody animal victims.

Linda has over 25 years of experience in animal protection. Prior to joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, as Director of Shelter Medicine and Humane Investigations at the Oregon Humane Society, Linda supervised a fully operational 12,000 square foot veterinary teaching hospital and lead a law enforcement division with statewide jurisdiction that addressed thousands of reports of animal cruelty every year. In these roles, Linda was able to gain unique insight about the intersection of veterinary forensics and animal cruelty investigations, particularly with respect to large-scale cases, cases involving unique species of animals, and investigations into non-accidental injury to animals. She conceptualized and oversaw the Emergency Animal Sheltering certification program, one of the first in the country, at the Oregon Humane Society. A program that directly served, not only the Humane Investigations Department but facilitated a national response to natural disasters and animal cruelty cases. Serving as Incident Commander on numerous crime scenes, Linda is accustomed to interfacing with every stakeholder necessary for a successful investigation. Linda’s breadth of knowledge encompasses every aspect and phase of an animal cruelty investigation and prosecution, making her a unique asset in the field.

Linda was one of the first Certified Animal Welfare Administrators in the state of Oregon, is a Certified Property and Evidence Specialist, and has completed the FBI-LEEDA Executive Command Leadership Institutes.

Outside of work, Linda enjoys making pottery and exploring the local coastlines and tidepools with Sunny, a former street dog from Mexico. She also owns a houseplant shop in the front of her home on the Pacific Coast Highway in Oregon.

Additional Resources

3 years ago