Utah House rejects bill to broaden animal-fighting prohibitions after amendment and debate

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House on Jan. 27 considered House Bill 112, a measure designed to align state law with federal standards and expand criminal prohibitions against animal fighting beyond dogfighting. After adopting a floor amendment that reinstated a third-degree felony on a third offense, the chamber rejected the amended bill 36-37.

Representative Judkins, presenting HB112 from an online location, described multiple changes in the bill: it would consolidate three separate animal-fighting statutes by replacing the word "dog" with "animal," expand the definition of "animal-fighting paraphernalia" to include equipment and devices used in training or to increase harm, and prohibit allowing a minor to attend an animal fight. "A violation of... if you fight animals, the violation is a class A misdemeanor on the first two offenses and on a third or subsequent offense it's a third-degree felony," Judkins said after moving House floor amendment 2 to clarify penalties. The amendment was adopted on the floor.

During floor questioning, members sought clarifications and raised concerns. One member asked whether the bill would inadvertently criminalize lawful field activities that release animals for retrieval; Judkins replied that the referenced provision is already in code and the change was largely clean-up. Representative Chu asked about the prevalence of non-dog animal fighting; Judkins acknowledged such events are rarer but said they do occur in other species. Representative Ivory pressed why dogs carry a historically higher penalty; Judkins said existing statute specifically singled out dogfighting because of its serious nature and he did not elevate other species to match dogfighting penalties.

Judkins framed the bill as closing a loophole that otherwise allowed the possession, training or sale of animals used in fighting and said animal-fighting rings correlate with illegal gambling and other criminal activity. "These animal fighting rings have often been linked to international drug cartels, organized crime, drug dealing, and human trafficking," Judkins said. Opponents and some questioners expressed concerns about scope and unintended consequences for legal hunting and field-training practices.

After debate and the adopted amendment, the House voted and HB112 failed to pass by a single vote, 36 in favor and 37 opposed. The bill was referred to staff for filing.