ALLISON, Okla. (KFOR) – Officials with the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office say 200-300 people scattered when a cockfighting derby was raided Saturday night in Allison.
Deputies tell KXII 68-year-old Michael Bedford helped aid people in getting away from authorities by pulling the paneling away from the gate and directing cars out.
Bedford has been charged with obstruction and possession of a firearm after a felony.
Animal Wellness Action (AWA) says the site of this raid is not far from the old Texoma Gamefowl Club, which was shuttered after the ban on cockfighting in November 2002.
“Sheriff Christian provided a service to the community by stopping a cockfighting operation in progress,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of AWA. “There’s nothing good about strapping knives or curved ice picks to the legs of animals, putting them in a pit, and watching them carve each other up just for human amusement and illegal gambling.”
According to a 2020 study from AWA and Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF), Oklahoman cockfighters accounted for more than a third of all birds illegally shipped to Guam from November 2016 to September 2019.
Animal Wellness Action says it provides a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of any individual for involvement in illegal cockfighting activities.
