Two Weekend Busts of Cockfights in Bexar and Freestone Counties Underscore Scope of Cruelty, Swift Texas Law Enforcement Response

SAN ANTONIO – Busts of cockfights in progress by the sheriffs of Bexar County and Freestone County are additional indicators of the extensive underground network of these illegal operations.  They are also markers of the partnership between law enforcement and leading animal welfare groups intent on shutting down these organized criminal syndicates.

Undercover investigations conducted on Saturday and then on Sunday by Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), working in concert with Animal Wellness Action, triggered arrests at illegal cockfighting derbies.  These are just the latest interdictions to result from the collaboration between county sheriffs and Animal Wellness Action and SHARK.

In Bexar County on Sunday evening, Sheriff Javier Salazar and his deputies responded immediately after investigators alerted them to a cockfight in progress near Atascosa. Sheriff Salazar personally arrived on scene, obtained independent evidence of a cockfighting event in progress, secured a search warrant, and directed the enforcement action, which resulted in seven arrests. Several suspects attempted to flee on foot but were tracked by deputies. Deputies discovered dead and dying roosters discarded in a wheelbarrow, and Animal Crimes Enforcement took custody of the surviving birds. The investigation remains ongoing.

“Sheriff Salazar’s response was immediate, decisive, and hands-on,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “He personally showed up, directed the operation, and ensured that this crime was stopped in real time. That level of leadership sends a powerful message that malicious animal cruelty, including staged animal fights, will not be tolerated in Bexar County.”

The day before, on Saturday evening, acting on information from SHARK, law enforcement in Freestone County raided a cockfight in progress near Mexia. One person was arrested, approximately 20 individuals were issued Class C citations, and up to 120 birds were seized. The cockfighting pit was located only feet from a large commercial poultry operation, posing serious biosecurity risks and potential exposure of tens of thousands of birds to avian diseases. That investigation also is ongoing.

“These busts are not isolated incidents,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. “They are part of an entrenched, organized underground network operating across Texas and neighboring states. What’s changing is that sheriffs are increasingly responding quickly and forcefully when given real-time evidence.”

Beyond in-state cockfighting rings, Animal Wellness Action and SHARK have also exposed the interstate and international trafficking of fighting birds. The organizations documented the North Texas Livestock Shipping Company arranging shipments of fighting birds to the Philippines, a global hub for cockfighting. That investigation, featured in multiple Dallas Morning News stories, revealed how traffickers exploit commercial airlines and cargo channels to move fighting birds overseas. The findings directly triggered the introduction last week of the No Flight, No Fight Act, H.R. 7371, led by former Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls, who now represents a Houston-area congressional district.  His legislation, which has bipartisan support, restricts the shipment of adult roosters on commercial airlines.

Since early 2025, SHARK and Animal Wellness Action have conducted dozens of undercover investigations across Texas and surrounding states, documenting cockfights in progress, tracking fighting bird trafficking, and alerting law enforcement to crimes as they occur. Those efforts have resulted in repeated raids, arrests, and the seizure of thousands of birds.

Selected prior investigations include the following:

• In January 2025, two Texas cockfighters were arrested in Atoka and Murray counties in southeastern Oklahoma, including one arrest inside the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
• In March 2025, investigators documented cockfights on both sides of the Red River in Murray County, Oklahoma and Martin County, Texas on the same day. In Oklahoma, a deputy broke up the fight without arrests.
• Also in March 2025, SHARK and Animal Wellness Action documented a large cockfighting operation in Titus County with hundreds in attendance.
• Later that month in Ellis County, investigators documented a major cockfighting derby in Ferris using drone footage.
• In Hunt County in March 2025, acting on real-time video evidence, deputies raided a large cockfighting derby near Wolfe City, arresting 21 individuals and seizing 67 birds.
• In April 2025, Parker County authorities arrested nine people, seized 96 live roosters, 50 gaffs, multiple vehicles, a trailer, and more than $15,000 in alleged cockfighting proceeds.
• On July 4, 2025, after earlier inaction, investigators returned to Titus County and obtained inside-the-pit video of a major cockfighting arena. The Titus County Sheriff obtained a search warrant and arrested Timothy Thompson and two family members on multiple felony cockfighting and animal cruelty charges. Authorities reported as many as 500 fighting birds on the property.
• Across Harris, Johnson, Collin, Henderson, Kaufman, and other counties in late 2025, a series of raids resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of hundreds of roosters, including operations disguised as barbershops and large holiday derbies on Thanksgiving weekend.

Animal Wellness Action and SHARK are calling for continued aggressive enforcement and passage of federal legislation to dismantle cockfighting networks permanently. At the federal level, the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 3946 and S. 11454, would strengthen penalties for animal fighting, enhance federal enforcement tools, and target the organized criminal enterprises behind these operations. The bill is supported by both the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas and the National Sheriffs’ Association, along with more than 450 other law enforcement agencies and a total of nearly 1,100 endorsing agencies and organizations

“Cockfighting is a felony in Texas and in every state, but laws are only as strong as their enforcement,” Pacelle said. “These cases show what works – determined investigators, courageous sheriffs, and strong laws. Congress now needs to do its part.”

A link to the press conference which took place earlier today can be found here.  Assets regarding other Texas cockfighting busts mentioned in the press conference can be found here.