WASHINGTON — Animal Wellness Action applauds the swift and decisive action by Provo Police Department and other law enforcement agencies that led to the arrest of 17 individuals and the seizure of more than 50 dead roosters in a large-scale illegal cockfighting operation in Provo, Utah. According to police, officers initiated a welfare check at a … Read more
Etsy Removes Cockfighting Implements—but eBay Refuses to Act. After our investigators uncovered that Etsy was illegally allowing its platform to be used for trafficking cockfighting implements—razor-sharp weapons strapped to birds’ legs to intensify bloodletting and cruelty—the company responded and removed the contraband earlier this month. But our investigation uncovered an even more consequential lawbreaker: eBay. … Read more
Press Statement 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 … Read more
One more bust in the “Cockfighting Corridor” between Tulsa and Dallas ALVARADO, Texas — In the wake of a report last month that identified an extensive criminal network of illegal cockfighting operations clustered between Tulsa and Dallas, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office raided a Thanksgiving Day cockfighting derby in Alvarado, arresting 25 people and seizing more … Read more
Seven Arrested; More Than 30 Live Birds Seized in Connecticut Illegal Animal-Fighting Bust WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wayne Pacelle, a native of New Haven and now president of Animal Wellness Action, today praised the West Haven Police Department for swiftly dismantling an illegal cockfighting operation over the weekend, calling the incident a stark reminder that animal-fighting trafficking networks … Read more
45 Arrested in Newton County’s “Operation Pitbull” – Cash, Narcotics, and Firearms Seized AUSTIN, Texas — Animal Wellness Action today applauded the collaborative work of law enforcement authorities in Newton County, Texas for dismantling a large-scale dog-fighting operation in Newton County, calling the raid one of the most consequential dog-fighting enforcement actions in the state in … Read more
COOLIDGE, Ariz. — Animal Wellness Action today praised the Pinal County Attorney’s Office and its partners for securing 80 felony and misdemeanor indictments against two men charged in a widespread cockfighting operation uncovered by the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement (GIITE). A Grand Jury indicted 60-year-old Samuel Felix and 61-year-old Gerald … Read more
Press Release Association representing all 77 sheriffs says it’s time to eradicate cockfighting in Oklahoma and has urged Oklahoma federal lawmakers to help pass FIGHT Act TULSA — Declaring that the FIGHT Act “provides urgently needed tools to combat the widespread and highly organized animal fighting that continues to threaten public safety, law and order, and … Read more
Animal protection groups say the platform is flouting federal law by hosting sales of deadly gaffs and knives used in illegal animal fights. By the Editors The online marketplace Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) is facing accusations from leading animal welfare groups that it is facilitating the illegal sale of cockfighting weapons, including razor-sharp gaffs and knives … Read more
Law enforcement’s decisive action in Hesperia and elsewhere sets model for eradicating animal fighting nationwide HESPERIA, Calif. — Animal Wellness Action today commended the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for its decisive and tenacious series of actions to dismantling illegal cockfighting networks, with yet one more interdiction of illegal animal fighting this past weekend. The … Read more