Law enforcement leaders, especially in agricultural states with first-generation workers sometimes hailing from nations where animal fighting is widespread, understand that animal fighting spawns a crime wave and a disease threat, especially to poultry industries BOISE, Idaho — Animal Wellness Action today applauded major Idaho law enforcement organizations for urging Congress to strengthen federal laws … Read more

Animal advocates say that it is past time to dismantle dozens of illegal fighting pits in Oklahoma and deliver prison time and serious fines to lawbreakers like Anthony DeVore WASHINTON, D. C. — Animal Wellness Action expresses dismay that cockfighting ringleader Anthony DeVore received a pitifully small fine of $100 after being caught in a … Read more

Press Release Phoenix, Ariz.— Animal Wellness Action and Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) applaud the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for its recent enforcement action dismantling a suspected cockfighting operation near Buckeye, where multiple individuals were detained on Saturday. The bust represents a continued and encouraging trend of law enforcement efforts targeting animal hoarding, illegal … Read more

Press STATEMENT WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action today praised the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and federal agencies following a major law enforcement operation on Saturday that dismantled an alleged organized cockfighting enterprise tied to broader criminal activity. The coordinated operation was the result of a months-long investigation into a large-scale illegal network involving cockfighting, gambling, … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action today commended the swift and decisive actions of the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office in dismantling an illegal cockfighting operation in southeastern New Mexico that drew more than 100 participants. New Mexico was the 49th state to ban cockfighting, only outlawing staged knife fights between birds in 2007, with the late Governor … Read more

Santa Barbara is one of at least 22 California counties that limit rooster numbers to enable law enforcement to shut down cockfighting operations without having to raid a cockfight in progress and put officers at risk from a mob of armed cockfighters. SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.— Animal Wellness Action today applauded Santa Barbara County Animal … Read more

A ban on greyhound racing was added to the Farm bill, but there’s continuing debate over a range of other provisions, good and bad This week brought major developments in Congress on the long-delayed Farm bill, and I want you to hear directly from me about what happened inside the House Agriculture Committee — the … Read more

Animal Wellness Action applauds Cherokee Nation Attorney General for bringing charges for organized staged fights Tulsa, Okla. — Animal Wellness Action today praised law enforcement authorities for pursuing felony animal cruelty charges against a former county sheriff in connection with alleged cockfighting operations conducted on Cherokee Nation land in McIntosh County. According to court records, Jeff Coleman, … Read more

Raids of cockfighting complexes continue to reveal that California may have more illegal cockfighting than any other state San Francisco — Animal Wellness Action applauded the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office for raiding a cockfighting complex with more than 800 birds. Deputies discovered birds of the major fighting breeds, cockfighting knives, betting slips, and other telltale … Read more

Paeans of praise are surfacing online among Mexican and American cockfighters after the killing of the “Lord of the Roosters” — one of the hemisphere’s most violent criminals who was obsessed with cockfighting Washington, D.C. – Underscoring the connection between malicious animal abuse and violence against people, the Mexican government’s killing this week of Nemesio … Read more