Back when Oklahoma was one of the few places in the U.S. where cockfighting was still legal, spectators would gather in rural arenas to watch razor-blade outfitted roosters battle to the death.
Now, over 20 years after the ban, concerns are rising as a proposal to reduce cockfighting penalties passed the Oklahoma House. A political action committee is fundraising to support farmers who breed game fowl. Even Governor Kevin Stitt showed support in a now-deleted video, backing the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission and pledging his encouragement.
"They're trying to sound official," said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, a group that helped outlaw cockfighting in the state. "But at the end of the day, they're just a group of cockfighters."
Before the ban, rural Oklahoma counties were dotted with cockfighting arenas housed in large barns with stadium-style seating, overhead lights, and even concession stands. These events drew hundreds of spectators, including children and families. It was not uncommon to find the property strewn with dead bird carcasses after fights to the death.
"We went from 42 arenas to... maybe there are 10 or 15 pits in the state," he said.
The resurgence of cockfighting as an issue in the Oklahoma Capitol is frustrating opponents who had believed the matter to be settled long ago. While cockfighting is illegal at the federal level, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison for certain offenses, recent cockfighting-related arrests in Oklahoma and other states serve as a reminder that the practice has not been eradicated but rather pushed underground.
In response to a serious mass shooting at a cockfight in Hawaii last year where five people were shot, two fatally, law enforcement in the state has pledged to increase enforcement efforts.
Oklahoma Governor Stitt mentioned that he records numerous videos each week and hadn't given his involvement much consideration. While stating that he is not in favor of gamecock fighting in the state, he expressed openness to reducing penalties if presented with a bill from the state's Republican-controlled Legislature.
The Controversial World of Game Fowl Farming in Oklahoma
In a recent video that sparked criticism from various quarters in Oklahoma, including former Gov. Frank Keating and football legend Barry Switzer, Governor Stitt found himself at the center of bipartisan backlash. Switzer, known as "The King" in the state for his achievements in football, was among those who voiced their disapproval.
Despite the uproar, Anthony Devore, the head of the Gamefowl Commission, remains undeterred. With 15,000 members, mostly hard-working rural Oklahomans, Devore's organization has raised over $70,000 to lobby lawmakers. They aim to expand their influence to other conservative Southern states like Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Devore clarified that their focus is on breeding game fowl for poultry shows and overseas sales, not for fighting purposes. While cockfighting is illegal in many nations, it is still legal and popular in select regions such as certain Mexican states, the Philippines, and parts of southeast Asia.
However, Devore did admit that a former district director of the Gamefowl Commission, who has since stepped down, was arrested for allegedly facilitating a cockfight during a raid in Carter County. The case is currently pending.
Operating in a legal gray area, Devore and his colleagues argue that reducing penalties would alleviate the looming threat of felony charges they currently face.
The effort is welcome news to Troy Thompson, a former high school teacher and coach who now works full-time raising thousands of birds every year on his 55-acre ranch dotted with white, tent-like structures near the town of Wilson in far southern Oklahoma, just 30 miles north of the Red River border with Texas.
Thompson, 50, said the chickens on his farm, who are kept on foot tethers so they don't fight with one another, are given vitamins, green grass year round and the highest quality feed he can buy. He said his chickens have a much better life than they would on a typical poultry farm, where they're raised in a tiny cage and slaughtered at about six weeks old.
"I had a rooster pass away last week that was 10 years old," he said. "They have a lot better life living here than they're going to have on a Tyson poultry farm."
Thompson said he grew during a time when rooster fighting was legal and dozens of farms dotted the rolling hills of southern Oklahoma. The name of his boyhood T-ball team was the Dillard Fighting Cocks.
"Would that go over today?" he asked. "It's mind blowing that you went from perfectly legal to facing a 10-year prison sentence."
And while some law enforcement officers and prosecutors have been cracking down recently on those who raise and fight birds, with busts recently in both urban and rural communities, prosecutors say it's unlikely anyone has been sentenced to prison for cockfighting.
"There's probably almost none (in prison)," stated Greg Mashburn, the top prosecutor for three central Oklahoma counties. "In the 18 years I've been DA, we've only had two cases."
Despite the low numbers, Mashburn emphasized the importance of enforcing anti-cockfighting laws due to the criminal element often involved in the activity, which frequently includes illegal drugs and gambling.
"It's also cruel to the animals," Mashburn added. "And where do you draw the line? If we allow that with chickens, why not dogs or other animals fighting to the death?"
However, some animal rights advocates argue that certain local sheriffs and prosecutors tend to overlook the practice. Despite the ban on cockfighting passing in 2002 with 56% of the vote, 57 out of the state's 77 counties were in favor of keeping cockfighting legal.
Drew Edmondson, a former county prosecutor and attorney general for Oklahoma, who now serves as a law enforcement co-chair for Animal Wellness Action, highlighted the reasons why some elected officials in Oklahoma, including sheriffs, may choose to ignore cockfighting.
He attributed it to a mix of financial interests and politics. "For local politicians, it's a pretty easy call when 60, 70, 80% of their county voted 'no' on the issue, to soft pedal it and not treat it like a serious crime," Edmondson explained.
