Animal fighters involved in the extremely brutal underground industry of dogfighting and cockfighting often make thousands of dollars in a single night.

And thousands of animals in the United States today suffer and die for their profit.

But when they illegally ship animals for fighting across state lines, a misdemeanor -- essentially a slap on the wrist -- is the only penalty they will possibly face.

The law must change, and it must change soon, and the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (H.R. 817) would make trafficking in fighting animals a felony, with much stiffer penalties. The bill would also make it a crime to move cockfighting implements in interstate or foreign commerce.

And it's now down to the wire for this much needed legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously but has been inexplicably bottled up in the House Judiciary Committee by Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).

If you care about stopping the rampant animal abuse still occurring in this country, please contact House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and urge him to bring this critical legislation, H.R. 817, to the House floor for an immediate vote.

This bill is supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Sheriffs' Association, numerous humane societies, and more than 400 state and local law enforcement agencies across America.

It’s also co-sponsored by three quarters of the entire House, making the delay unconscionable.

It truly is time for the U.S. House of Representatives to help end rampant animal abuse in America - forever.

Congressman Boehner’s contact information is listed below:

http://johnboehner.house.gov/contact.asp