Animal Wellness Action Applauds Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for Cockfighting Bust, Calls for Public Vigilance on This Too Common Cruelty and Crime

Phoenix, Ariz.— Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) applaud the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for its recent enforcement action dismantling a suspected cockfighting operation near Buckeye, where multiple individuals were detained on Saturday.

The bust represents a continued and encouraging trend of law enforcement efforts targeting animal hoarding, illegal cockfighting, and other forms of cruelty and animal neglect across Maricopa County. In recent months, authorities have uncovered multiple animal hoarding operations and sites linked to organized animal fighting, seizing birds and evidence tied to illegal gambling and coordinated criminal activity.

“Cockfighting is a barbaric and illegal enterprise that thrives only when it is ignored,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “We commend the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for taking this crime seriously and dismantling it. These operations are part of a wide underground network of cruelty and lawbreaking.”

Earlier this year, another enforcement action in the Tonopah area uncovered dozens of roosters, many showing signs of physical alteration for fighting, along with dead birds and equipment used in staged fights. Several individuals in that case were charged with felonies, underscoring the severity of these offenses.

Cockfighting is illegal under both Arizona law and federal statutes and is frequently associated with illegal gambling, narcotics activity, and other forms of organized crime. Birds are often fitted with sharp weapons and forced into violent encounters that result in severe injury or death.

“Law enforcement officers and animal welfare groups are doing the hard work of exposing these operations,” Pacelle added. “Now it is critical that prosecutors and courts impose meaningful penalties. Weak consequences only embolden repeat offenders and allow this cycle of cruelty to continue.”

The organizations also urge Congress to pass the bipartisan Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 3946/S. 1454, to bolster enforcement tools, including bans on shipping fighting birds through the mail, outlawing simulcast gambling on cockfights and enhancing forfeiture provisions for property used in these criminal enterprises.

More than 1,100 agencies and law enforcement organizations across the nation have endorsed the FIGHT Act, including the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association.

More than 165 members of Congress have cosponsored the bill, including Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz.

Animal Wellness Action asks for tips on suspected animal fighting activities, with reports to local authorities or to Animal Wellness Action at tips@animalwellnessaction.org