cockfighting

Cockfighting, the practice of fighting roosters, has been around for centuries. In the U.S. it’s a federal crime and illegal in all 50 states. But in Oklahoma, there’s an effort to lower the penalties for cockfighting that breeders say simply protects their right to raise roosters, while animal rights groups are calling foul.

Several people, including a member of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, are facing criminal charges relating to illegal cockfighting.

The raid, in which officers on horseback pursued fleeing suspects, was the largest-ever seizure of fowl used for cockfighting in the U.S. The practice is illegal, but lucrative and difficult to catch.