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
New investigative report ties rural cockfighting empire to felons and international crime rings WASHINGTON, D.C. — A blistering new report released today by Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) exposes a vast criminal enterprise spanning from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas, centered around cockfighting but bound together with illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, … Read more
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Animal Wellness Action today thanked the Maine Prosecutors’ Association and Maine Sheriffs’ Association for endorsing the bipartisan FIGHT Act (Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Animal Trafficking Act, H.R. 3946 / S.1454) — landmark legislation designed to give federal, state, and local authorities the tools they need to dismantle organized dogfighting and cockfighting operations nationwide. In … Read more
Press Statement EXPERT INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE KENDALL COUNTY, Ill. — Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) commended the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office for executing a major operation that resulted in the recovery of more than 400 fighting birds and the arrest of three individuals in connection with an alleged cockfighting enterprise in Little … Read more
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. — Animal Wellness Action, along with the Center for a Humane Economy, today applauds the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office and its partners for successfully dismantling a criminal cockfighting operation in Piñon Hills, seizing dozens of birds, weapons, and other evidence of illegal activity. This enforcement action underscores the continuing commitment of … Read more
Organization notes that Texas is a hot spot for cockfighting with its border with Mexico and three states (LA, NM, OK) that were the last states to outlaw the practice WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy today commended the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Laredo Police Department Special Operations … Read more