Animal Welfare Groups Applaud Mount Pleasant Law Enforcement for Cockfighting Bust, Call for Federal Charges and Preservation of the Crime Scene

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas — After conducting an undercover investigation on the evening of July 4 of a cockfighting derby in progress and tipping local authorities to the illegal event, Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) today issued a joint statement applauding the Titus County Sheriff’s Office for its swift action in arresting Timothy Thompson, the owner of the property and organizer of the fighting event. The organizations exposed an illegal fighting derby in March at the same location and identified it as one of the biggest cockfighting complexes in northeast Texas.

“Tim Thompson was running a major cockfighting complex, with a fighting arena, cockhouses, and as many as 500 fighting birds on his property,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “We applaud the Titus County Sheriff for arresting him, after acting on our tip, and urge them to continue to keep open the investigation and bring charges against the full cast of actors present at the major fighting derby conducted on Independence Day.”

SHARK and Animal Wellness Action are calling on authorities to treat the Mount Pleasant property as an active crime scene. Hundreds of fighting birds remain on site, and they note that possession of even a single fighting animal is a federal felony. The organizations are urging local authorities to invite federal authorities to join the investigation given its scale and its ties to a network of other fighting operations.

“The Mount Pleasant cockfighting complex is the visible part of a sprawling animal fighting syndicate that stretches across state lines and ships fighting birds domestically and internationally,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. “The fighting birds, the fighting pit, the fighting housing, and the digital records should all be treated as criminal evidence and authorities should follow the countless leads that are now available to them.”

The organizations are urging Congress to pass the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance enforcement tools for federal agencies cracking down on animal fighting operations. The bill has support from the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas and numerous county sheriffs across the state.

For in-the-pit video footage obtained from Friday night’s derby or more information about the Mount Pleasant and other cockfighting investigations,contact lindsey@animalwellnessaction.org.