Press Release Groups note there have been more political donations from cockfighters in 2022 than the total number of cockfighting busts in 20 years Oklahoma City — From 2004 to 2022, there were only 29 law enforcement actions resulting in the arrest of individuals involved in cockfighting, an average of 1.75 busts a year for 75 … Read more
Animal Fighting is the Pits
Groups call on Sheriff to shut them down and arrest organizers, attendees Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Acting and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) – two national animal protection organizations with campaigns against cockfighting – urged Lee County Sheriff to shut down three cockfighting pits that SHARK has investigated within the last month and found … Read more
SHARK Releases Video Revealing Operators of Major Cockfighting Complex in Coal County Illegally Shipping Fighting Birds Through U.S. Post Office in Coalgate Oklahoma City — Calling Oklahoma “the cockfighting capital of the United States,” Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy released reports today detailing 1) rampant cockfighting (report available to journalists upon … Read more
A criminal network built on animal cruelty and gambling should no longer be tolerated by state authorities Montogomery, Ala. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and the Center for a Humane Economy (CHE) — two non-profit animal welfare groups that bring a science-based approach to fighting animal cruelty — released two reports today detailing 1) rampant cockfighting … Read more
Typically, Thanksgiving isn’t just rough on turkeys, but also on chickens. It’s opening day for the months-long cockfighting season, with action taking place at hundreds of fighting arenas scattered across the hinterlands. The states of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and California and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and Guam have the most extensive cockfighting … Read more
Sheriff reports juveniles in attendance at major cockfighting derby in Maynardville Nashville, Tenn. — Acting on a tip from the animal welfare group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), Union County Sheriff Billy Breeding and his deputies raided a cockfighting derby in progress Saturday afternoon, citing 98 individuals with crimes related to cockfighting and preventing more … Read more
Cockfighting Brings Threats of Spreading Avian Influenza and Driving Up Egg Prices Nashville, Tenn. — Citing concerns about cruelty and disease threats to other commercially raised poultry, Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation today called on Tennessee lawmakers to give favorable consideration to SB 194, by Senator Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, and H.B. 285, by … Read more
Brent Easterling Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison, Tyler Easterling Gets 20 Months, for operating fight pits, illegally possessing thousands of fighting birds, and trafficking in fighting birds and implements Montgomery, Alabama — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and allied groups congratulated federal prosecutors for securing federal prison time for major cockfighting operators from Verbena, Alabama for their … Read more
The Federal Ban on Cockfighting Is Settled Law, as Congress Winds Up to Strengthen the Law Again WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, a U.S. District Court dismissed with prejudice a legal maneuver by a former Northern Marianas Islands local politician and executive agency official – a self-described lifelong cockfighter – to invalidate the application of the federal ban … Read more
Lawmakers also seek to choke off transport of adult roosters through U.S. mail