BALTIMORE, MD (November 3, 2015)– Baltimore City Council Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen commended the Baltimore City Council Health Committee for unanimously advancing a bill that would create a criminal charge for the possession of animal fighting paraphernalia during a public hearing today. Introduced in August by Mayor Rawlings-Blake, the legislation aims to make it easier to file charges against people involved in animal fighting if animal control or law enforcement officers enter a location that has clearly been used for animal fighting but find no animals present.

“Our responsibility is to protect the health not only of Baltimore’s human residents but of our animal residents as well,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. “We thank the City Council Health Committee for supporting our Mayor’s efforts to rid our city of animal fighting and hope that the rest of the City Council will follow their lead by advancing this bill that will keep animal fighting paraphernalia off of our streets and out of our communities.”

Items that would be prohibited in the legislation include:

• Breaking sticks designed for insertion behind the molars of a dog to break the dog's grip on another animal or object;
• Cat mills which rotate around a central support with one arm designed to secure a dog and one arm designed to secure a cat, rabbit, or other small animal beyond the grasp of the dog;
• Springpoles which have a biting surface attached to a stretchable device, suspended at a height sufficient to prevent an animal from reaching the biting surface while touching the ground;
• Fighting pits or other confined areas designed to contain an animal fight; and
• Breeding stands or rape stands used to immobilize female dogs for breeding purposes.

This legislation would criminalize the possession of animal fighting paraphernalia with a $1,000 penalty and up to 90 days jail time.