PARKER COUNTY, Texasn— Animal Wellness Action applauded the Parker County Sheriff’s Office for its decisive and proactive investigation that led to the seizure of more than 350 chickens and felony animal cruelty charges against a man accused of operating a cockfighting training facility.
According to authorities, deputies responding to an animal welfare check uncovered a large-scale operation in Parker County where birds were being “groomed, conditioned, and trained for cockfighting,” a clear violation of state law and a hallmark of organized animal abuse. Ernesto Rocha Ramirez was taken into custody last Tuesday on warrants alleging cockfighting and cruelty to livestock, and Parker County Jail records show he is being held without bond, according to CBS News Texas.
“The sheriff’s office dismantled a major cockfighting crime ring,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “The law enforcement team investigated the crime network, built a case, and acted with resolve. The sheriff understands that animal fighting is bound up with other crimes and these operations need to be run out of town.”
Sheriff Russ Authier emphasized the office’s stance in a statement, “Whether it swims, flies, walks or crawls, we take animal cruelty cases very seriously here in Parker County.”
Cockfighting is a felony in Texas and illegal in all 50 states, yet underground operations persist because perpetrators often assume they won’t be caught—or worse, that they won’t face serious consequences even if they are.
“We’ve seen too many cases in Oklahoma and elsewhere where individuals tied to organized cockfighting operations walk away with little more than a slap on the wrist—minimal fines, deferred sentences, and no real accountability,” added Pacelle. “This case in Parker County stands in stark contrast to those failures. Now it’s up to prosecutors to clinch the case and mete out meaningful punishments.”
“These busts are not isolated incidents,” said Steve Hindi, president of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK). “They are part of an entrenched, organized underground network operating across Texas and neighboring states. What’s changing is that sheriffs are increasingly responding quickly and forcefully when given real-time evidence.”
Animal Wellness Action urged other jurisdictions to follow the example set in Parker County by proactively investigating suspected animal fighting operations instead of waiting for complaints or tragedies.
Animal Wellness Action and SHARK are calling for continued aggressive enforcement and passage of federal legislation to dismantle cockfighting networks permanently. At the federal level, the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act, H.R. 3946 and S. 1454, would strengthen penalties for animal fighting, enhance federal enforcement tools, and target the organized criminal enterprises behind these operations. The bill is supported by both the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas and the National Sheriffs’ Association, along with more than 450 other law enforcement agencies and a total of nearly 1,100 endorsing agencies and organizations.
Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas-37, Lance Gooden, R-Texas-5, Troy Nehls, R-Texas-22, Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas-1, Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas-7, Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas-29, and Julie Johnson, D-Texas-32, are cosponsors of H.R. 3946. Rep. Nehls also introduced the No Flight, No Fight Act, H.R. 7371, to strengthen the federal prohibition of smuggling fighting animals on commercial aircraft. Rep. Gooden is also a cosponsor of that bill.
