California has long been a hotspot for cockfighting, with its long border with Mexico, where cockfighting is legal, and its place as a launching point for the Pacific Rim trade in cockfighting birds.
California has one of the weakest anti-cockfighting laws in the West, with misdemeanor penalties for an enterprise bound up with cruelty, contagion, and a wide assortment of crimes.
The U.S. bird flu H5N1 epidemic that began in February 2022 continues unabated, highlighting the ongoing public health risks associated with illegal cockfighting.
The widespread cockfights threaten to spread avian flu disease to California's enormous commercial poultry flocks, increasing the prospect of inter-species spillover to humans.
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