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Massive Cockfighting Network Dismantled: The Latest in a Comprehensive Campaign to Eliminate Animal Fighting
Congress must act to help combat criminal networks fueling an animal cruelty crisis in America
Dear Friend,
This week, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office — policing the largest county by land area in the nation — conducted one of the biggest cockfighting busts ever.
After a weeks-long investigation, deputies made 56 arrests and seized 3,500 birds bred for staged combat. Only in California have we seen local enforcement actions of such scale. Some years ago, 2,500 birds were seized in San Diego County. And in 2019, in rural northern Los Angeles County, authorities uncovered an astonishing 7,800 birds — the largest cockfighting bust in history. This week’s action in the Inland Empire may be the second biggest anywhere.
We applaud the sheriff’s office for its strong work. We also believe our long-standing efforts — to criminalize animal fighting nationwide, upgrade laws, build enforcement capacity, conduct undercover investigations, and expose the cruelty and criminality of these enterprises — are inspiring law enforcement agencies across the nation to take the fight directly to the perpetrators.
With our partners at Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, we are unrelenting in our mission to root out animal fighting wherever it exists.
Just last month, we joined with local law enforcement in northeast Texas to dismantle a network of cockfighting operations. One raid shut down the arena of Tim Thompson, a major figure in the cockfighting underworld — an operation we intend to ensure never returns.
Weeks earlier, our undercover investigations revealed the two self-appointed national leaders in the push to weaken U.S. animal fighting laws — Anthony Devore and Blake Pearce of Oklahoma — are deeply involved in cockfighting. Our team documented staged fights in a McIntosh County pit, with both men at the center of the action, contradicting their repeated public denials.
Pushing National Policies to Help Animals
Recently, lawmakers from across the political spectrum introduced the FIGHT Act in both the House and Senate. It now boasts more than 900 endorsing agencies and organizations — from the Alabama and Tennessee Sheriffs’ Associations to the National District Attorneys Association to the American Gaming Association. Even the United Egg Producers support the measure, concerned about the avian disease threats cockfighting poses.
While local law enforcement is increasingly active in dogfighting and cockfighting arrests, federal authorities remain largely disengaged. The FIGHT Act is one way to change that.
We’re also urging Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to build capacity by creating an Animal Cruelty Crimes Section — a dedicated team of prosecutors focused solely on these cases. The House Appropriations Committee has recommended $2 million to finally establish this long-overdue unit.
Right now, the DOJ has just one prosecutor working on this immense portfolio. While the agency has made some dogfighting arrests, there have been no federal prosecutions for cockfighting in years — despite our submission of hundreds of case files on known offenders.
That’s why we are also backing the FBI Animal Cruelty Taskforce Act to create a specialized law enforcement unit focused on these crimes. Since Congress outlawed animal fighting in all U.S. jurisdictions — including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands — the DOJ has brought zero prosecutions in these territories.
Cockfighting hubs are hotbeds of drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, child exploitation, illegal immigration, and organized violence. In the last two years alone, three mass shootings have occurred at cockfights — including one just months ago. The sale of animal crush videos is also closely tied to child sexual exploitation.
Cockfights are often organized by cartels and gangs, with U.S.-based breeders shipping as many as a million fighting birds a year to Mexico.
We Bring Moral Urgency to This Battle
Animal fighting is a morally settled issue in our nation. Dogs in pits suffer blood loss or suffocation. Birds, armed with knives or curved ice picks on their legs, slash and stab each other in a blur — puncturing eyes, hearts, or lungs, and opening arteries.
When animal fighting goes unpunished, it signals indifference to broader violence. Too often, the first strike is against animals, escalating to other crimes if unchecked.
In one incident last year, six people were killed and 14 wounded when cartel violence erupted at a cockfight in Mexico. One victim was a 16-year-old boy from Washington State, killed in a hail of bullets; his father was also shot. Americans are the major suppliers of fighting animals to cartel-controlled pits, making this illicit trade as ugly and violent as the drug trade — and often intertwined with it.
The trafficking of fighting animals brings cruelty, chaos, and crime, spilling into our communities. That’s why we must act. Please join us in halting this severe cruelty and enforcing the rule of law.
Write your lawmakers today — and donate to help us wipe out dogfighting, cockfighting, and other forms of malicious cruelty for good.
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