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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate passed a bill Monday that increases the criminal penalty for game fowl fighting.
SB134 would make it a class A misdemeanor on the first offense and a third-degree felony on subsequent offenses.
Bill sponsor Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, said game fowl fighting is growing in Utah and trade magazines say the state's current law is a "joke." He said it's the only Western state in which it isn't a felony.
"They believe the Legislature condones cockfighting in Utah," Davis said.
Attending a cockfight as a spectator is a class B misdemeanor.
The Senate approved the bill 17-11. It now goes to the House, where the same measure died last year.
