The Associated Press
SANTA FE — Actress Pamela Anderson has asked Gov. Bill Richardson to outlaw cockfighting in New Mexico, one of only two states that still allows it.
"The whole country is watching, especially Hollywood, which your office actively courts for the film business," Anderson wrote in a letter released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Richardson's office did not immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Richardson could ask the legislative session that begins in January to outlaw the practice.
An effort to prohibit it died in the 2003 session, with opponents of a ban arguing that cockfighting is an important part of New Mexico's heritage.
Cockfighting — in which blades are strapped to the legs of roosters to fight — is legal only in New Mexico and Louisiana.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez has said he will ask Albuquerque city councilors to outlaw cockfighting and the breeding of fighting birds within the city limits.
He said it doesn't help his efforts to attract high-tech companies to Albuquerque to have cockfighting arguments bandied about in the news.
"We've got cockfighting, which is just knife fights with roosters," Chavez said. "It's just plain, old animal cruelty."
Sen. Shannon Robinson, D-Albuquerque, opposes efforts to outlaw cockfighting.
He said cockfighting is a tradition.
"It's part of a way of life, and it's a sport. It's a breeder's sport. It's almost an industry," said Robinson, who said his father was a cockfighter.
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