Animal Wellness Action applauds Oklahoma Ethics Commission for disbanding DeVore-created pro-cockfighting organization and fines the group $10,000
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oklahoma’s leading public advocate for cockfighting has run into legal trouble with two Oklahoma enforcement entities — with the McIntosh County District Attorney filing charges against Anthony DeVore for illegal cockfighting activities and the Oklahoma Ethics Commission meting out stiff penalties for violations of campaign finance laws by the pro-cockfighting organization DeVore created with Blake Pearce.
DeVore served as president of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, with Blake Pearce as vice president; both are active cockfighters who lobbied lawmakers to gut the state’s voter-approved ballot measure that criminalized cockfighting. Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) have engaged in a long-running investigation of illegal cockfighting networks in the state, with DeVore and Pearce at the center of the network of cockfighters.
Both men have long denied their involvement in cockfighting, until they were caught in the act when undercover investigators with Animal Wellness Action and SHARK filmed DeVore and Pearce at cockfights this summer at illegal derbies in McIntosh County. Animal Wellness Action learned of the charges against DeVore yesterday but has not determined if Pearce is also subject to arrest for his illegal cockfighting activities.
In addition to the criminal charges, DeVore is also facing punishment for the unethical lobbying practices of the Gamefowl Commission. Under a settlement announced on Wednesday, the Gamefowl Commission must pay $10,000 in penalties, dissolve within 30 days, and is barred from creating a new Political Action Committee for two years. The state Ethics Commission documented multiple violations, including taking illegal corporate contributions, failing to track donor information, spending outside its stated mission, and keeping shoddy, misleading records.
“DeVore and Pearce have shown contempt for Oklahoma’s anti-cruelty laws and campaign finance standards for years, misrepresenting their purposes and their conduct all along,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “I hope Oklahoma lawmakers now understand that the lobbying campaign DeVore orchestrated was predicated on gutting the state’s most important anti-cruelty law to enable him and his cohorts to promote and participate in staged battles between animals without fear of arrest.”
“The Ethics Commission’s action, and the arrest in McIntosh County makes it clear that these people do not stand above the law,” added Pacelle.
Kevin Chambers, Oklahoma state director for Animal Wellness Action, urged any lawmaker who received campaign contributions from the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission to donate that money to an Oklahoma animal shelter or wildlife rehabilitation center. “Politicians who took money from this cockfighting front group should disavow this operation and its organizers and show their support for animal welfare by making donations to animal welfare groups in the state,” said Chambers.
“DeVore and Pearce are cockfighters through and through,” added Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. “Cockfighting is their illegal business and this appears to be the primary focus of their lives. They’ll only stop when the state metes out severe punishments that are commensurate with their serious crimes.”
Animal Wellness Action, SHARK, and the Center for a Humane Economy will continue working with law enforcement and policymakers to stamp out cockfighting and to hold accountable anyone who bankrolls or defends this criminal enterprise. Animal Wellness Action pays rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of animal fighting operators. Send tips to animalcrueltytips@animalwellnessaction.org