FAIRHOPE, Ala. — “Just being animal lovers and folks who volunteer their time, it’s just not enough,” said August Palumbo, Daphne city council president, Thursday at the Fairhope Civic Center.

It was a call to action for legislators to push bills combating animal cruelty, and the speakers at the meeting are hopeful the citizens of Baldwin County can mobilize and organize in the coming year.

“Having that blaze of interest among advocates is great, but the fire needs to keep going,” said Mindy Gilbert, the Alabama state director for The Humane Society of the United States.

Gilbert showed the upcoming bills proposed for 2011 Alabama Legislative session.

The fine for cockfighting is currently set at $50, which Gilbert said is soft, and a bill is proposed to make the punishment more severe.

“We don’t want to be known as the cockfighting state,” Gilbert said.

There is also a felony dog-fighting bill, a bill to ban gas chambers in animal shelters and a bill to strengthen animal control officer requirements.

Palumbo helped remove the gas chamber in the Daphne City Animal Shelter in 2007, and he offered some advice to those interested in seeing these bills passed.

“Bombard the legislators,” he said. “You’re doing the right thing here by organizing.”

Assistant Chief of Police of the Fairhope Police Department Terry Sanders told the audience about how he had to put down the family pet, Casper, because of what he believed to be poisoning.

“I walked into the clinic Saturday morning,” Sanders said. “I cried like a baby.”

Sanders is pleased with the work being done to fight animal cruelty, and he said he “can’t understand why someone would want to abuse an animal.

Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant and Baldwin County’s Alabama Rep. Steve McMillan also were in attendance and spoke to the audience briefly about the work being done by the Baldwin County Humane Society.

Gilbert closed the meeting with a question-and-answer session with the audience.