The U.S. Senate late Tuesday passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill, the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007.

The House of Representatives, in a 368-39 vote, had previously passed the bill that makes violations of federal animal fighting law a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, makes it a felony to transport an animal across state or international borders for the purposes of animal fighting and prohibits the interstate and foreign commerce in knives and gaffs designed for use in cockfighting.

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Thousand Oaks) proposed the bill.

"Local police and sheriffs are increasingly concerned about animal fighting, not only because of the animal cruelty involved but also because of the other crimes that often go hand in hand, including illegal gambling, drug trafficking and acts of human violence," Gallegly said.

"In the last six months," he said, "virtually every reported arrest at an animal fight also led to additional arrests for at least one of these criminal activities."

Recent months have seen a rise in the frequency of animal fighting arrests in cities nationwide.

It is also dangerous for children to be close to these animals. Children are often brought to the fights. Some dog fighters steal pets to use as bait for training their dogs.

In addition, cockfighting has been identified as a major contributor to the spread of avian flu throughout Thailand and other parts of Asia. Many of the people who died from avian flu contracted it from fighting birds.

Roosters smuggled into the United States for the express purpose of cockfighting could carry the disease, like cockfighting roosters that brought Newcastle disease to California in 2002 and 2003, devastating the U.S. poultry industry.

In a press release, Humane Society of the United States president Wayne Pacelle praised supporters of the bill for overcoming opposition from what he dubbed "the cockfighting lobby."

"Nearly every week, there are reports of dog fighting and cockfighting crimes in the United States. It is a vast underground network of people who revel in seeing animals tear one another apart and gamble on the outcomes of the staged spectacles," Pacelle wrote.

"Now federal law enforcement officials have the tools they need to uproot these underground animal fighting enterprises and put a halt to the abhorrent cruelty inflicted on dogs, birds and other animals."