Animal Wellness Action Applauds Law Enforcement in Texas for Thanksgiving Weekend Cockfighting Crackdown

HOUSTON — Animal Wellness Action commended law enforcement in Texas for taking decisive action this Thanksgiving weekend against barbaric and illegal animal-fighting operations.

Officials at the Washington D.C.-based animal-welfare nonprofit saluted deputies in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for their swift response to a tip about a cockfighting ring on Little York Road in north Houston. Investigators found live and deceased roosters, evidence of ongoing fights, and signs of illegal gambling.

According to reports, at least 70 roosters were recovered from the site, several already deceased. Deputies detained four individuals who now face potential charges related to animal cruelty and illegal gambling.

In North Texas, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office detained 25 people and recovered more than 70 roosters during a Thanksgiving-Day raid in Alvarado after reports of an active cockfight. Cockfighting is a felony in Texas whether a person causes birds to fight or uses a property for the purpose of conducting cockfights. It is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.

Officials also noted an unconfirmed inmate booking record in Collin County, just northeast of Dallas, showing cockfighting-related charges for eight people over the holiday weekend, though no official details about a bust there have been released.

“This weekend’s busts send a powerful message: Cockfighting will no longer be excused or ignored,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, which lead a national campaign against illegal animal fighting in cooperation with Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK). “We commend the brave men and women of these Sheriff’s Offices, the Houston SPCA and all collaborating agencies for acting quickly on a holiday weekend to end this cruelty.”

“While most Texans were spending time with family and celebrating Thanksgiving, other people were gathering together to commit ruthless acts of violence,” added Pacelle. “Texas law enforcement is standing up to interdict these staged fights that are also magnets for a wide range of criminal activity.”

Animal Wellness Action will follow these cases as they proceed through the courts and encourages prosecutors to pursue the strongest possible penalties under existing Texas law.

Animal Wellness Action, SHARK, and the Center for a Humane Economy call on law-enforcement agencies across Texas and throughout the United States to endorse the FIGHT Act (S. 1454 / H.R. 3946). The Sheriffs’ Association of Texas and the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association have already endorsed the FIGHT Act, which would upgrade enforcement tools to crack down on illegal cockfighting and dogfighting. The legislation is pending in both chambers of Congress, enjoys broad bipartisan support, and has more than 1,000 endorsing agencies and organizations nationwide.