December 29, 2021

DEAR FRIENDS, 

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

Unfortunately, animal cruelty never takes a break and so neither does SHARK. On Christmas Day, SHARK investigators spent the day on the road traveling to Kentucky where cockfights were scheduled for the next day - December 26. After we droned these locations, we asked for your help to shut them down. 

Thank you everyone for getting in touch with the Kentucky State Police (KSP) at our request. Last Sunday and going forward, such efforts on the part of caring people like you will help turn the tide in the push to end the horror of cockfighting, which is already illegal but is generally getting a pass from law enforcement at every level.

The KSP did not arrive until after the cockfight at Charlie’s pit (picture below) was over. At least 4-5 hours elapsed before they took action, which is unfathomable if the police were serious about enforcing the law, which they currently are not. Only one officer was sent out, which is again ridiculous. 

 

On the bright side, a larger fight which was planned for this weekend, and for at least the next few weeks will not occur. This is typical when SHARK exposes a location. They close down for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, but at some point, they reopen. That’s why our team has to repeatedly monitor/drone locations across the state and elsewhere.

The cockfighters and their police protectors are waiting for us to get tired of the battle. This approach worked when other groups made noise about cockfighting in the past. What these people don’t understand about SHARK is that we don’t get tired, and we won’t back off. Once they learn that, real change will start to happen, and I hope that turn will come in 2022.

While fighting for the animals would easily be enough to keep us engaged, cockfighting is connected to illegal drugs, weapons, and human trafficking, making it all the more preposterous that law enforcement is protecting the criminals, and that Kentucky media is refusing to do its job.

SHARK will continue to track Charlie’s and every other pit as long as it takes, so long as we have the means to carry on. Please keep us in mind when choosing animal protection issues for donations, because we desperately need your support for the animals.

SHARK will continue to update on our YouTube channel, via our email blasts, social media and on our websites -  www.CrushCockfighting.com, SHARKonline.org.

Again, thank you for caring, and most importantly, for taking action!

As many of you know, SHARK started exposing Joe Schreibvogel, aka Joe Exotic's horrific treatment of exotic cats in 2015. We continued this work until he passed the zoo to Jeff and Lauren Lowe, where they picked up where Schreibvogel left off. 

SHARK's drone work of the Thackerville facility was a contributing factor in the long-overdue removal of 146 malnourished, suffering and dying animals to sanctuaries. See video here.

On Thursday, December 23, 2021:

A federal judge in the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled that Lowe and his wife Lauren, as well as their company Greater Wynwood Exotic Animal Park LLC, have violated the Endangered Species Act. The Lowes, Judge John F. Heil, III said in his ruling, possessed “ESA-protected animals that were illegally taken,” “violated the ESA by delivering, carrying and/or transporting” such animals, and broke the law by exhibiting those animals without a license.

As a result, Heil wrote, the Lowes are “permanently enjoined” not only from taking possession of, delivering, carrying or transporting “any ESA-protected animals that have been unlawfully taken,” they’re also “permanently enjoined from exhibiting animals to the public.”

You can read the entire article here.

Once again, Covid-19 didn't stop SHARK from its work for the animals in 2021. While other groups used Covid-19 to minimize their work for the animals and focused instead on fundraising, SHARK was out on the killing fields documenting and exposing animal killers and working hard to stop them.

Thank you helping to make the victories for the animals possible! SHARK will need your help and support to continue our work in 2022 for the animals.

See what your support accomplished for the animals in our 2021 End-of-Year Review Video here.