Press Release Law enforcement executed a search warrant yesterday and are pursuing individuals involved in the biggest cockfighting event in recent memory in Delaware Washington, D.C. – Today, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) and Animal Wellness Action called on Delaware law enforcement to follow through with an investigation into illegal cockfighting after SHARK droned … Read more
A mass shooting at known illegal cockfighting venue outside Honolulu demonstrates that the violence from animal-fighting enterprises spills into communities, harms people Washington, D.C. – Driven by concerns for the barbarism of animal fighting, mass shootings and other crimes comingled with staged animal combat, as well as disease threats to poultry and other birds posed by … Read more
Animal fighting responsible for viral and violence spillovers in our communities Every cockfight or dogfight ends with animal victims. That’s the point of the staged combat. Dogs tear flesh. Roosters stab with blades and curved ice picks strapped to their legs. But in Hawaii, less than two weeks ago, there was death and mayhem just … Read more
Animal fighters are trafficking in millions of fighting animals and are involved in illegal gambling, narcotics, money laundering, shootings, and murder Washington, D.C. – Driven by concerns for the barbarism of animal fighting, other criminal behavior comingled with it, and disease threats to poultry posed by transporting fighting roosters, U.S. Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Andrea … Read more
Press Release Indifference by Two Kentucky State Police Posts Raises Questions About Possible Corruption Louisville — Citing a failure to act on credible information about organized crime and illegal animal fighting enterprises, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), Animal Wellness Action, and 50 other animal welfare organizations called on Gov. Andy Beshear and Attorney General … Read more
Organization Encourages Cooperation with Federal Law Enforcement, While Also Noting New Legislation to Crack Down on Animal Fighting to be Introduced in Congress Today Washington, D.C. — Today, Animal Wellness Action offered plaudits to the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office for investigating illegal cockfighting ventures and making arrests in a case within its jurisdiction. Given the complexities in the … Read more
AWA had issued multiple warning about Hawaii being a massive cockfighting hub and one of the top hotspots anywhere in the nation for this crime Washington, D.C. – Animal Wellness Action reacted to the mass shooting at the close of a cockfighting event in Oahu, noting that “it has forecast this very sort of mass shooting … Read more
Washington, D.C. — Today, Animal Wellness Action reacted with shock and alarm to an administrative commission determination that Guam Department of Agriculture law enforcement officer Ken San Nicolas would be fully reinstated in his position and given backpay even though acknowledging and conceding that he participated in illegal cockfighting. Staging an animal fight is a federal felony, with … Read more
Press Release Second of two bills bill to decriminalize cockfighting dies today in state legislature, dramatically reducing the threat of any weakening of the state’s voter-approved law Oklahoma City – The effort to unwind the state law making cockfighting a felony met with a final defeat today, with the Senate choosing not even to give … Read more
State Legislative News Analysis The measures are likely to meet same fate as prior years’ efforts to unwind the state’s most important anti-cruelty law In Oklahoma, pro-cockfighting bills in the state House and Senate are on life support, despite a well-funded lobbying campaign by the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission (OGC); the work of its professional lobbying … Read more
Sooners see cockfighting as ‘very definition of barbarism and backwardness’ Oklahoma City — Today, Animal Wellness Action, which has been leading the effort to defend State Question 687 from efforts in the Oklahoma legislature to gut its provisions, reacted to a just-released poll from the Sooner Survey. The statistically valid survey of 500 Oklahomans revealed … Read more
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
Cockfighting Brings Threats of Spreading Avian Influenza and Driving Up Egg Prices Nashville, Tenn. — Citing concerns about cruelty and disease threats to other commercially raised poultry, Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation today called on Tennessee lawmakers to give favorable consideration to SB 194, by Senator Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, and H.B. 285, by … Read more
We secured the most important reforms ever against animal testing, while ending legal animal fighting and commercial cub-petting throughout U.S. The year 2022 turned out to be a remarkable one for the Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action, and the Animal Wellness Foundation. We secured many tangible gains. We put a punctuation mark … Read more
Brent Easterling Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison, Tyler Easterling Gets 20 Months, for operating fight pits, illegally possessing thousands of fighting birds, and trafficking in fighting birds and implements Montgomery, Alabama — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and allied groups congratulated federal prosecutors for securing federal prison time for major cockfighting operators from Verbena, Alabama for their … Read more
Lawmakers also seek to choke off transport of adult roosters through U.S. mail
In addition to staging fights in U.S., animal fighters are raising and shipping tens of thousands of fighting animals to other nations throughout the world Washington, D.C. – Noting the barbarism of staged dogfighting and disease threats to poultry posed by cockfighting, Reps. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, and Don Bacon, R-Neb., introduced legislation to strengthen the … Read more
Just-Retired Official Says No Other Agriculture Department Official Should Authorize These Illegal Shipments Either Hagåtña, Guam – The long-time Guam Territorial Veterinarian publicly announced on Sunday announced that shipment of more than 11,000 adult birds to the island from the states has been conducted only for cockfighting purposes and that he refused to sign the … Read more
Federal Judge and Prosecutors to Make Key Sentencing Decisions and Recommendations Now that Brent Easterling and other Family Members Offer Guilty Pleas in Major Cockfighting Case in Central Alabama (Montgomery, Alabama) — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and the Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) urged the federal court considering the United States’ criminal case against Brent Easterling, … Read more
Guam’s Animal Import Standards Announced in April Prove Hollow WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) have strongly criticized the Guam Department of Agriculture (GDOA) for allowing at least 132 fighting animals onto the island from Hawaii-based cockfighters between March and July of this year, according to AWA’s review of the territory’s latest live-animal shipping records. AWA have … Read more
Oklahoma City – Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, issued comment about allegations from the animal-welfare group SHARK that Atoka County Sheriff Tony Head in southeast Oklahoma has been delinquent in not enforcing the state’s anti-cockfighting law. “Animal Wellness Action has acted on multiple tips on illegal cockfighting activities in Stringtown in Atoka County … Read more
The Federal Ban on Cockfighting Is Settled Law WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former Northern Marianas Islands local politician and executive agency official – a self-described lifelong cockfighter – has absolutely no chance of progressing given the adjudication of similar lawsuits advanced by cockfighters on Guam and in Puerto Rico, according to Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness … Read more
Oklahoma City – Rampant illegal cockfighting in Oklahoma threatens to make an outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) even more menacing, according to Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. The major illegal cockfighting industry in Oklahoma may cause the spread of the disease across Oklahoma and even to foreign nations. AWA has … Read more
Guam Department of Agriculture Has Taken Also No Disciplinary Action Against Its Own Law Enforcement Officer Who Allegedly Staged Illegal Cockfights Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) has strongly criticized the Guam Department of Agriculture (GDOA) for issuing “hollow and totally adequate” animal import standards that will allow illegal shipments of fighting birds onto the … Read more
The scale of the violence and crime is startling to fathom. In Mexico, gang leaders got inside an arena in March, sealed off exit routes, and shot and killed 20 people attending a cockfighting in Michoacán state. Three of the dead were Americans, including a mother of four from Illinois and, according to the Michoacán … Read more
(Oklahoma City) – Today, the Oklahoma House of Representatives chose not to take up House Bill 3283, by Rep. Justin Humphrey, that would have gutted penalties in Oklahoma’s comprehensive, voter-approved anti-cockfighting law. The bill would have also decriminalized possessing and training of fighting animals. Today was the deadline for a bill to get out of its chamber of … Read more
But live-shipping records for 2022 shows Department reneged on pledge to abide by federal law and block shipments of fighting birds (Washington, D.C.) Today, Animal Wellness Action (AWA) applauded an emergency action by the Guam Department of Agriculture (GDOA) to halt live poultry imports to Guam because of the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, … Read more
It hasn’t been a good week for cockfighting syndicates. More than a dozen animal-fighting enthusiasts in Kentucky face charges under federal law, while other members of the larger clan are being confronted with import restrictions on the sale of their fighting birds and the prospect that more enforcement actions may unravel their illegal business operations. … Read more
Groups charge that the bill gives comfort to known criminals in the state Oklahoma City – Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation, the Center for a Humane Economy, and other anti-cruelty organizations condemned a bill to weaken penalties for certain cockfighting crimes and to decriminalize others. The bill, H.B. 3283 is authored by Rep. … Read more
Non-profit organization releases second video of an illegal cockfighting enterprise, augmenting its evidence seeming to implicate an Agriculture Department employee Washington, D.C. — Today, Animal Wellness Action released a second video it has obtained of a fight at an illegal cockfighting derby on Guam, and at the center of the pit is a law enforcement agent … Read more
A corrupt Department of Agriculture has allowed shipments of more than 11,000 fighting animals from cockfighters from the states Washington, D.C. — Today, Animal Wellness Action released video footage that, according to informants, documents illegal cockfighting by a law enforcement agent working at the Guam Department of Agriculture– an explicit violation of the federal law forbidding … Read more
Cockfights Occured after AWA Publicly Exposed the “Grand Opening” of January Cockfighting Scheme At “Dededo Game Club” WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of Animal Wellness Action (AWA) obtaining a secret schedule of cockfighting derbies planned for “The Dome” in Dededo starting on New Year’s Day, the organization’s president, Wayne Pacelle, reported that drone surveillance picked up … Read more
Appeals exhausted, cockfighters are legally obligated to cease staged animal fights, including Guam derbies advertised for New Year’s Day WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Guam that Congress has the authority to bar animal fighting throughout the United … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of Animal Wellness Action (AWA) obtaining a secret schedule of cockfighting derbies planned for “The Dome” in Dededo starting on New Year’s Day, the organization’s president, Wayne Pacelle, called on Governor Leon Guerrero to speak out publicly and to call on organizers to cancel their plans for the illegal event. A … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action has obtained a secret schedule of cockfighting derbies planned for “The Dome” in Dededo starting on New Year’s Day and continuing through the month of January. A source within the cockfighting community shared the schedule with Animal Wellness Action, which worked to pass the federal law to outlaw cockfighting everywhere and … Read more
Washington, D.C. – Animal Wellness Action (AWA), the Animal Wellness Foundation, and the Center for a Humane Economy today applauded Members of Congress for pressing the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the service, with a letter to crack down against illegal animal fighting shipments that continue to be uncovered by … Read more
Cockfighters illegally shipped 1781 fighting birds to the small U.S. territory of Guam, with two Bay Area cockfighters accounting for the bulk of the shipments Los Angeles, California – Despite state and federal laws forbidding the practice, California is one of the nation’s top cockfighting states, according to a new report from Animal Wellness Action … Read more
Animal Wellness Action and the Animal Wellness Foundation Will Pay for Info that Leads to Animal Fighting Arrests, Convictions BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA — After applauding federal authorities for cracking down a major animal fighting operation in middle Alabama, the Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) and Animal Wellness Action (AWA) today announced a $5,000 reward for information resulting in … Read more
Federal action comes 16 months after Animal Wellness Action released a report featuring Brent Easterling and other Alabamians involved in trafficking of fighting animals (Washington, D.C.) — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and the Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) applauded federal law enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama and personnel from … Read more
It is rare moment when a nation enacts wholesale prohibitions upon a widespread, lucrative form of animal exploitation. Today, after decades of campaigning to deliver that outcome, I’m pleased to report the enterprise of cockfighting – an ages-old form of staged animal combat that held on as a semi-legal activity in a handful of enclaves … Read more
Appeals exhausted, cockfighters in Puerto Rico, and also in Guam, are legally obligated to cease staged animal fights and follow the law Washington, D.C. – Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied a writ of certiorari from political leaders in Puerto Rico seeking relief from a federal law that bans cockfighting there and in … Read more