Lopsided defeat of cockfighters in a rural southeast Oklahoma district and 17-year sentence for dogfighter mark a powerful one-two punch against animal fighting in Oklahoma
Tulsa, Okla. — The lopsided electoral defeat for cockfighting advocate Anthony DeVore in House District 19 and the 17½-year federal prison sentence for dogfighter Julius Griffin signal a tipping point in the Animal Wellness Action campaign to eradicate illegal animal fighting from the state, Animal Wellness Action said today.
On Tuesday, in a lopsided vote, Republicans in Oklahoma House District 19 rejected Anthony DeVore, a former president of a cockfighting front group, the so-called Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, that campaigned to decriminalize the long-standing felony offense and elected animal fighting opponent Michael Brittingham to represent the district covering four southeast counties. That district, for some years, had the reputation as a stronghold of cockfighting sentiment.
On the same day, in federal court, repeat Tulsa dogfighter Julius Deane Griffin was sentenced to 210 months—17½ years—in federal prison after being found guilty in a case arising from an extensive dogfighting operation.
Animal Wellness Action Oklahoma conducted an independent expenditure campaign in District 19, informing voters about DeVore’s record, including his advocacy for cockfighting, his legal case arising from an illegal cockfight, and the campaign-finance violations that resulted in the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission PAC paying a $10,000 penalty and dissolving.
Taken together, Animal Wellness Action said, the two events demonstrate that Oklahoma is entering a new era in which animal fighting is being confronted not as a tolerated fringe activity, but as serious criminal conduct—and those who associated themselves with these activities face game-changing electoral and criminal justice consequences.
“This feels like a tipping point in Oklahoma,” said Kevin Chambers, Oklahoma state director of Animal Wellness Action and a national expert on animal fighting. “On one day, a repeat dogfighter received 17½ years in federal prison, and in the same 24-hour period, voters in a district that people once thought might be friendly territory for cockfighting politics rejected a leading cockfighting advocate by a two-to-one margin. That is a powerful message.”
Griffin’s sentence came more than two decades after his first dogfighting conviction. In 2005, he was convicted in Hughes County in connection with another major Oklahoma dogfighting case involving more than 40 dogs and received a five-year state prison sentence, serving approximately two years.
Federal authorities arrested Griffin in April 2025 after executing a search warrant at his northwest Tulsa residence. They seized 17 live pit bull-type dogs and one deceased dog, along with evidence associated with dogfighting, including trophies, treadmills, kennels, digital scales, injectable steroids, syringes, dog medications, firearms-related items and more than $16,000 in cash.
Several of the surviving dogs had missing or damaged body parts, scars and open wounds consistent with fighting. Federal investigators also found electronic evidence documenting dogfighting activity, including a video showing a child cheering during a dogfight.
“This is exactly the kind of punishment that chronic, repeat animal fighters should face,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and a key architect of the 2002 Oklahoma ballot measure to outlaw cockfighting. “Griffin had already been convicted of dogfighting once, served a relatively short period in prison, and went right back to this vicious criminal enterprise. Today, the federal justice system sent a very different message: if you persist in dogfighting, you can lose years—even decades—of your freedom.” Pacelle also led efforts to make dogfighting and cockfighting federal felonies, working to upgrade the national law against animal fighting five times in the 21st century.
DeVore himself was charged with illegal cockfighting, after Animal Wellness Action caught him entering birds in a cockfight last year in McIntosh County. Prior to that, DeVore became known at the Oklahoma Capitol for his efforts to reduce the criminal penalties associated with cockfighting. He formed and led the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, raised money from cockfighters and lobbied lawmakers to change state laws governing the staged animal combat.
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission also took action against the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission PAC. The political committee agreed to pay $10,000 and dissolve following a settlement involving multiple campaign-finance violations.
“Anthony DeVore wanted voters to give him the power to make laws after spending years trying to change the laws that govern cockfighting,” said Pacelle. “But the voters of District 19 looked at that record and overwhelmingly said no.”
“Yesterday was a very good day for the animals of Oklahoma,” said Chambers. “And it may prove to have been a historic day in the effort to end animal fighting in this state.”