Jan 29, 2007 / 10:10 am
The executive director of the Catholic Conference of New Mexico, Allen Sanchez, said this week of the bishops of that state are supporting a new law that would prohibit rooster fights because they foster violence and violate established principles regarding the treatment of animals.
“The Church teaches that we are supposed help God’s creatures and there are established principles about how to care for animals,” Sanchez said, adding that “it is now time to pass this prohibition and move on to more important issues,” such as the bishops’ support for the abolition of the death penalty and their opposition to embryonic stem cell research.
If the measure to prohibit rooster fighting passes, Louisiana would be the only state where the practice would still be legal. Defenders of the “sport” claim it is a Hispanic cultural tradition and therefore should not be prohibited.
“Rooster fights abuse the goodness of the creation of God and do not constitute a cultural treasure,” the bishops of New Mexico said in a statement.
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