VA Gamecock fighting a misdemeanor??

With VA being the home of PETA I was surprised to see this in the Galax VA newspaper online GALAX GAZETTE. What is this guy thinking??


Delegate defends vote on animal-fighting
Del. Bill Carrico (R-Fries) says he’s been dogged by unfair criticism of his vote on a House of Delegates bill that would make animal fighting a felony in Virginia.
“First, let me say that I do not condone violence against, or the abuse of, animals,” Carrico said in a press release last week.
HB 656 passed the House by a vote of 93-2, with Carrico casting one of the votes against. But, he said, that does not mean he in any way condones animal fighting.
The bill’s major policy change was elevating all types of animal fighting, especially cockfighting, to a felony.
Carrico said dog fighting has been a felony in Virginia since 2002. In fact, he was one of four members of the General Assembly to co-patron HB 707, which made dog fighting a felony offense.
“HB 656 did enhance some dog fighting penalties, which I agree with, but it was largely a bill to make cockfighting a felony,” Carrico wrote in his statement. “My objection to HB 656 is simply this: I think the penalty for fighting dogs should remain higher than the penalty for fighting gamecocks. That’s it.”
So, he voted against the bill.
Currently, under Virginia law it is a class 6 felony to fight dogs. If HB 656 passes the General Assembly, it would still be a class 6 felony.
However, what used to be a Class 3 misdemeanor for fighting gamecocks would now be a Class 6 felony.
“I have absolutely no objection to increasing the penalty from a Class 3 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor, which could result in fines and jail time, but I do not feel that a first offense for fighting chickens should be a felony offense,” Carrico wrote.
He said he would support a Class 6 felony for cockfighting if it were limited to second and subsequent offenses.
“I’m sure some people will disagree, but I think there is a fundamental difference between dogs, which are companion animals, and chickens,” Carrico said.


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http://www.galaxgazette.com/cgi-bin/storyviewnew.cgi?055+News.2008225-130-055-055007.Full+News