The author of a dogfighting bill is mad over a Senate amendment that calls for the mandatory sterilization of canines seized in dogfighting cases.

State Rep. Bobby Reese (R-Sugar Hill) on Wednesday questioned the constitutionality of the change by Sens. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and Robert Brown (D-Macon) to his House Bill 301, which would require convicted owners to pay for the spaying or neutering of impounded dogs.

Reese said he plans to disagree with the changes, which could land his bill in a joint conference committee to work out differences. The Senate passed the amended measure unanimously and sent it back to the House. "This is not a spay-and-neuter bill," an angry Reese said. "This is a joke. I was quite angry when I saw it."

The measure was intended, Reese said, as a "simple" bill to stiffen criminal penalties for those who participate in or watch dogfighting matches.

The amendment could penalize some dog owners unfairly, Reese said, because sterilization, which would not be connected to the guilt or innocence of the owner, would be an automatic part of the "humane" care of all dogs impounded in connection with dogfighting.

Rogers said he thought the amendment was a good idea, but, if Reese opposes, it would not have to stay in the bill. "It's not something we're wedded to," Rogers said. "It's not going to hold up the bill."

The Humane Association of Georgia, which wanted the bill's focus broadened to include all animals, considers the spay-or-neuter requirement a positive development. "If [owners will] accept the animal back neutered, you know they just want the animal," said Carolyn Danese, association president. "If they won't accept it back, then you know they just want it as a fighting or breeding machine."

The Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which advocates the spaying or neutering of all impounded dogs and cats, also agrees with the amendment. Rogers, who has been working to rid Georgia of dogfighting for four years, credited the dogfighting case of suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick with increasing public knowledge of the problem. Other elements of HB 301 remained the same. The bill would make it a high and aggravated misdemeanor for spectators caught for the first time at a dogfighting match and a felony for subsequent violations.

Participating in dogfighting, which includes promoting matches or training dogs for the sport, would be a felony punishable by imprisonment of as many as five years and a $5,000 for first-time offenders. Prison time would double and the fine triple for repeat violators.