In the Tulsa area, animals may be suffering in silence: tethered to the ground, bred for bloodsport, and shipped overseas to die. A new investigation by Animal Wellness Action (AWA) has uncovered disturbing evidence of suspected cockfighting breeding operations operating just outside Tulsa, including in Haskell, Bixby, Collinsville, and Osage County.

These are not backyard birds. These are gamefowl kept in conditions that experts say are consistent with cockfighting operations: tied to stakes, bred in large numbers, and trained for aggression. In Haskell, investigators traced birds from one farm to shipments bound for the Philippines, where cockfighting is legal. But in the U.S., it is a federal felony to ship gamefowl for fighting.

AWA calls this the first hard evidence linking a U.S. farm to international gamefowl trafficking, and it’s happening right here in Oklahoma.

Cockfighting is illegal in Oklahoma, and it has been for more than 20 years. Yet birds are still being bred, brutalized, and exported — all while enforcement remains virtually invisible.

We’re calling on:

• Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler
• The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office
• The U.S. Department of Justice

...to fully investigate and prosecute any farms involved in breeding or trafficking birds for fighting.

The animals used in cockfighting endure horrific violence. Add your name to demand justice for these animals. It’s time for the law to be enforced.

Photo: AWA