Asheville, NC — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy say North Carolina’s anti-cockfighting law comes up short in helping law enforcement crack down on a crime wave of underground criminal networks involved in cockfighting. The state’s law is in urgent need of major repair in this year’s state legislative session in Raleigh.
A spate of incidents involving cockfighting are reminders of the prevalence of this criminal and dangerous enterprise. Animal Wellness Action has issued reports on the widespread nature of illegal cockfighting networks in North Carolina, including a roster of illegal traffickers of fighting animals. The reports found that a group called the North Carolina Gamefowl Breeders Association (NCGBA) functions as an organizer and a political defender of this organized crime activity.
For example, a 2024 bust of cockfighters by Granville County Sheriff Robert Fountain and a multi-agency bust of a cockfight in progress showed there is a network of fighting operations in the state. The Granville bust produced at least 15 arrests, seized 200 roosters and 50 cars and led to the discovery of thousands of dollars, guns, and drugs tied to the illegal fighting operation. Sheriff Fountain stated that he had never seen anything of this magnitude, as cockfighters were injecting gaff-wearing birds with adrenaline and throwing them back into the battle when they were near death.
Sheriff Fountain released photos of the crime scene, and one photo showed a trailer featuring the logo of Los Panchos Gamecock Farm inTraphill, one of the biggest fighting rooster operations in North Carolina.
Just last week, deputies with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Rigoberto Vasquez-Ferrer on Feb. 4, 2025, on charges related to cockfighting. Deputies responding to a welfare check for chickens found Vasquez-Ferrer in the process of cutting the comb and wattle off an American Game rooster. Deputies said they also found several other chickens which had injuries as well as cockfighting paraphernalia. Vasquez-Ferrer was charged with six counts of felony animal cruelty and two misdemeanor counts of possessing cockfighting paraphernalia. Unfortunately, North Carolina’s penalties for cockfighting remain weak compared to those in other states.
If House Bill 544, which was passed in 2021 had not been weakened at the behest of the NCGBA, the cockfighters’ front group, law enforcement would be able to put a stop to cockfighting and its associated crimes with stiffer penalties in their toolbox. If the General Assembly had passed that bill intact it would have applied to the case in Davidson County. Currently, cockfighting is illegal in North Carolina, but it is classified as a Class 2 misdemeanor, which carries relatively light penalties for a premeditated criminal act.
“The relative weakness of North Carolina’s anti-cockfighting law makes the state a destination for people who raise animals for use in cockfighting, including non-nationals flocking to the Tarheel State,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “North Carolina’s anti-cockfighting law must be strengthened to deter these crimes, including for possessing animals for fighting purposes and for possession of cockfighting equipment.”
Gaffs or knives are the sharp blades cockfighters strap on a fighting rooster’s legs so they can inflict maximum damage to each other in a cockfight. “There is no other purpose for these instruments,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK, which conducts extensive field work to uncover and document illegal cockfighting networks. “If they are found in proximity to a fighting rooster it is proof that the rooster is being used in illegal cockfighting. The law should make this explicit. It makes no sense to make an activity illegal but tie the hands of law enforcement to enforce the law.”
Cockfighting is bound up with other criminal activities, as was the case with a recent interdiction in Yucaipa, California where cockfighting enthusiast and son-in-law of cartel leader “El Mencho” was arrested. Cockfighting is a crime of animal cruelty, bound up with illegal gambling, drugs, and violence that attracts both domestic and international criminal syndicates. For these reasons, the federal FIGHT Act to strengthen the laws against cockfighting has been endorsed by towns throughout the state, by the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys Association, and key law enforcement personnel through the Tarheel State.
North Carolina’s Congressional delegation has been consistently supportive of the enactment of federal anti-animal fighting policies. A House amendment to fortify the federal law to ban cockfighting and dogfighting everywhere in the U.S., including in the U.S. territories, attracted the support of 12 of 14 members of the North Carolina delegation.
“Since our 2020 investigation into illegal cockfighting in North Carolina, we’ve learned about the people who have built a criminal syndicate driving cockfights inside and outside of North Carolina,” added Pacelle. “This crime network, partly organized by the North Carolina GamefowlBreeders Association, needs to be disbanded. It not only threatens the well-being of animals but the safety of communities. Gambling, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal conduct are routinely commingled with animal fighting.”
“Lawmakers should introduce and pass comprehensive anti-animal fighting legislation this year if they want to stop the cockfighting crime wave, protect the state’s poultry industry from further spread of bird flu, and keep criminals from flocking to the state,” added Pacelle.