A Q&A with Jewel Johnson of Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig’s Roost Cockfighting is cruelty in its purest form. Cockfighters strap knives or gaffs (curved, razor-sharp picks) to birds’ legs, place them in a pit, and goad them to fight to the death. They do it for the thrill of the bloodletting and for illegal gambling. … Read more
Press Release Animal Wellness Action and SHARK provide detailed evidence of ongoing gamecock operations built for raising and selling fighting animals in violation of Oklahoma and United States law Oklahoma City — Animal Wellness Action and SHARK have released a report on the leaders of the so-called Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission (OGC) detailing their unmistakable involvement in … Read more
Cockfighting deadens the human attributes of empathy and decency. It is criminally infectious, with cruelty then blending with gambling, money laundering, corruption of public officials, and other illicit behaviors. This kind of moral rot masquerading as sport deserves no refuge in any state, territory, county, or even neighborhood. Yet despite a strong federal law criminalizing … Read more
Press Release Groups note there have been more political donations from cockfighters in 2022 than the total number of cockfighting busts in 20 years Oklahoma City — From 2004 to 2022, there were only 29 law enforcement actions resulting in the arrest of individuals involved in cockfighting, an average of 1.75 busts a year for 75 … Read more
Press Release National animal welfare groups call on Kentucky State Police, federal law enforcement authorities to interdict Ongoing Animal Cruelty Crimes Louisville, KY — Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) released a list of 16 cockfighting arenas from Butler to Pike counties that have illegally operated in the state. SHARK obtained drone … Read more
Groups call on Sheriff to shut them down and arrest organizers, attendees Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Acting and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) – two national animal protection organizations with campaigns against cockfighting – urged Lee County Sheriff to shut down three cockfighting pits that SHARK has investigated within the last month and found … Read more
SHARK Releases Video Revealing Operators of Major Cockfighting Complex in Coal County Illegally Shipping Fighting Birds Through U.S. Post Office in Coalgate Oklahoma City — Calling Oklahoma “the cockfighting capital of the United States,” Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy released reports today detailing 1) rampant cockfighting (report available to journalists upon … Read more
A criminal network built on animal cruelty and gambling should no longer be tolerated by state authorities Montogomery, Ala. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and the Center for a Humane Economy (CHE) — two non-profit animal welfare groups that bring a science-based approach to fighting animal cruelty — released two reports today detailing 1) rampant cockfighting … Read more
Typically, Thanksgiving isn’t just rough on turkeys, but also on chickens. It’s opening day for the months-long cockfighting season, with action taking place at hundreds of fighting arenas scattered across the hinterlands. The states of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and California and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and Guam have the most extensive cockfighting … Read more
Sheriff reports juveniles in attendance at major cockfighting derby in Maynardville Nashville, Tenn. — Acting on a tip from the animal welfare group Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), Union County Sheriff Billy Breeding and his deputies raided a cockfighting derby in progress Saturday afternoon, citing 98 individuals with crimes related to cockfighting and preventing more … Read more