Feds Bust Kentucky Cockfighting Ring in Echo of Vick Dog Charges
A federal grand jury in Kentucky on Thursday indicted five people for animal fighting charges over their alleged involvement in a cockfighting pit located in Whitesburg, Ky., which featured stadium seating, a concession stand and merchandise sales.
Sportico has obtained the indictment, which details how several of the defendants are also charged with criminal conspiracy (a sixth defendant is charged only with conspiracy).
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According to prosecutors, Virgil Saylor, Robert Baker and others from Kentucky and Georgia sponsored weekly animal fighting ventures at the “American Testing Facility,” also known as the Whitesburg Chicken Pit.
The venue featured “stadium-style seating” surrounding a cockfighting pit, a concession stand, and areas for storing and weighing live birds and places for selling memorabilia and animal fighting accessories—including gaffs, the razor-sharp steel blades fitted over a rooster’s spurs for fighting.
The defendants allegedly kept detailed notes on the weapons used on the animals, tracked wins and losses and compiled other data points. They distributed advertising materials across state lines, including through Facebook, and paid regular employees including referees and kitchen staff.
Participants engaged in illegal gambling by paying entry fees to enter their animals as fighters, with the hope of winning the pot. Spectators also gambled on which bird would prevail.
To illustrate how this operation worked, the defendants allegedly held a competition on Feb. 5, 2022, that featured 75 entries for a 6-cock event. About 400 people attended, including many under the age of 16. The indictment details several similar competitions held in 2021 and 2022.
The Animal Welfare Act makes cockfighting and other forms of animal fighting a crime. It is illegal in the U.S. to possess, train, sell, buy or transport an animal for the purpose of participating in a fighting venture, and a person convicted can be sentenced to up to five years in prison. In 2007, Michael Vick pleaded guilty to violating the same federal statute (7 U.S.C. § 2156) to resolve dog fighting ring charges, and he was sentenced to 23 months in prison. A conspiracy conviction can add another five years to the potential sentence.
Animal advocacy groups issued statements in response to Thursday’s indictments. The Animal Wellness Action and SHARK (Showing Animals Respect & Kindness) praised federal law enforcement for gaining intelligence about the fights and taking decisive action. But they criticized the Kentucky State Police for allegedly “refusing to respond with officers to break up” fights and make arrests.
To that point, earlier this year Animal Wellness Action and Shark released this chart identifying what they claim are 16 fighting arenas:
SHARK president Steve Hindi said the Kentucky State Police have not brought a single cockfighting case in 2013 “despite our giving them a roadmap of the cockfighting pits throughout eastern and central Kentucky.”
Congress is considering the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, which would amend the Animal Welfare Act by enhancing methods of enforcement and halting the shipment of mature roosters.
Cockfighting has occasionally spawned controversies for major sports figures. In 2007, New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez was shown on a video attending a cockfight with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in the Dominican Republic. Martinez insisted he did nothing wrong since cockfighting was legal in the Dominican Republic and because “it is part of our Dominican culture.”
With assistance from Scott Soshnick.
