SHARK and Animal Wellness Action Sniff Out, Document, and Trigger Break-Up of Third Texas Cockfighting Derby During March
Ferris, TX — For the third time in the last month, and acting on tips from concerned citizens, Showing Animals and Kindness (SHARK) and Animal Wellness Action were on site to document illegal cockfighting derbies in Texas and alerted local authorities in real time, causing the cockfighters to scatter and shutting down their fighting derbies. The latest event on Saturday afternoon occurred near the town of Ferris, on the outskirts of Dallas, and Animal Wellness Action and SHARK alerted the Ellis County Sheriffs’ Office, documenting the massive gathering and the fighting venue with the use of drones.
It is the third Texas cockfight that the organizations exposed this month, and the fourth event in four weeks, including a cockfight in Murray County, Okla., not far from Red River, which separates that state from Texas.
The cockfight occurred on private property on March 2. After Sheriff’s deputies and Animal Control arrived on scene, cockfighters began fleeing, leaving behind vehicles, masses of dead birds, and also live birds. According to the sheriffs’ office, no one was apprehended initially, but investigators documented the crime scene late into the night and intend to bring charges. It is a felony in Texas to host a cockfight or to participate in a cockfighting derby. There is a bill in the state legislature to further strengthen the law.
B-roll footage will be made available to authorized media on request.
On the prior Saturday, March 15, Animal Wellness Action and SHARK documented an even larger event at the property of cockfighting kingpin Tim Thompson. While the Ellis County Sheriffs’ Office obtained a warrant in short order and began gathering evidence at the crime scene, the Titus County Sheriffs’ Office refused to do so. A senior law enforcement officer with the Titus County Sheriffs’ Office, who was not at the crime scene, appears to have unilaterally determined there was not probable cause of a crime in progress despite solid evidence provided by our investigators. It turns out that the officer is a Facebook friend of the property owner who maintains two massive gamecock farms and a fighting pit at the property.
“Ellis County law enforcement responded quickly and they treated the crimes occurring on a property in Ferris with the seriousness they deserved,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK, who was on the scene at the cockfighting derby. “We documented fights occurring in broad daylight and it was a scene of massive carnage.”
“This was a major cockfight, and the people involved brazenly orchestrated staged animal combat in the light of day,” said Kevin Chambers, an investigator with Animal Wellness Action and who was on the scene. “Ellis County is chockablock with fighting rooster farms that raise birds for use in these cruel cockfights, and this community apparently gathered at the fighting venue on Saturday.”
SHARK obtained a schedule of fighting events at both locations, and also on March 1st in Stanton, in Martin County Texas.
“It is critical that arrests and prosecutions result from these careful investigations where we documented major cockfighting derbies,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “Cockfighting is barbaric, and it is a state and federal crime. When you apprehend cockfighters caught in the act of maiming animals, you make the community safer because these same people are typically involved in money laundering, tax evasion, narcotics trafficking, and other lawlessness.”
Texas law enforcement have stepped up their game in addressing illegal fights. There has been a steady drumbeat of cockfighting interdictions, including fights in Galveston, where nearly 100 birds were seized in a large-scale cockfighting operation; in Potter County, where more than 160 roosters were seized and, according to the sheriff, “many” participants were “unlawfully” in the United States; in San Jacinto, where suspects were “expected to face multiple felony charges, ranging from animal cruelty, cockfighting, illegal gambling, unlawful weapon possession, organized crime, and federal firearm possession by illegal immigrants; in Cherokee, where two dozen were arrested on similar charges; and in Lynn County, where the sheriff brought felony charges “because of organized criminal activity.” Earlier this month, the El Paso County Sheriffs’ Office obtained a warrant and arrested a man for having a collection of cockfighting paraphernalia, along with 16 roosters trained to fight.
There have been a series of interdictions at the border, including a law enforcement action where officers “made an unusual discovery, roosters deeply hidden within passenger vehicles,” according to press releases. Border Patrol and Customs seized this shipment of fighting implements from Mexico City. And on February 17, CBP officers working at the Paso Del Norte international crossing seized 180 rooster gaffs and 7,500 Viroton animal steroid tablets from a traveler arriving from Mexico. CBP seized the merchandise and issued the traveler a $2,000 penalty.
Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy are advocating for passage of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, which has been endorsed by the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas and dozens of county sheriffs, including those on or near the border. Officials there say it is critical legislation that addresses a pervasive and deeply troubling issue: the rampant and barbaric practice of animal fighting, which is inextricably linked to a host of other serious crimes.
U.S.-based cockfighters are deeply involved in a massive trade with Mexican cartels that control many major cockfighting venues south of the border. This illicit activity is creating a separate border crisis centered around animal trafficking, posing serious threats to both Americans and Mexicans.
“I consider passing the FIGHT Act in Congress as urgent a priority as we have at Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy,” Pacelle said.
U.S. Representatives from Texas who cosponsored the FIGHT Act last Congress are Jasmine Crockett, D-30; Lloyd Doggett, D-37; Lizzie Fletcher, D-7; Lance Gooden, R-5; Sylvia Garcia, D-29; and Troy Nehls, R-22. Texas’s senior Senator, Republican John Cornyn, is a cosponsor of the Senate bill led by Cory Booker, D-N.J., and John Kennedy, R-La.
A fact sheet on the FIGHT Act can be found here.