KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Tennessee Congressman Bill Jenkins says the F-B-I has terrorism and serious crimes to investigate and questions why agents were involved in busting a cockfight.
State and federal agents charged 144 people on Saturday and seized about 40-thousand dollars in cash. They found more than 300 roosters dead in the Del Rio community in Cocke (KAHK') County.
The Republican congressman from Knoxville told The Knoxville News Sentinel's Washington correspondent the state has a methamphetamine epidemic and there are ongoing homeland security and terrorism concerns. Jenkins says the government doesn't need to divert the F-B-I's attention to cockfighting -- only a misdemeanor crime in Tennessee.
Jenkins voted in the Judiciary Committee against a bill that would have made it a felony to transport animals, including roosters, across state lines for fighting.
<!-- -->Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.