Cockfighting is not legal anywhere in the United States. Every state has banned it, the District of Columbia has banned it, federal law prohibits it under the Animal Welfare Act, and the 2018 Farm Bill extended the ban to all U.S. territories. Organizers can be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison. Even spectators can be jailed for up to a year.
What Federal Law Prohibits
The core federal statute is 7 U.S.C. § 2156, part of the Animal Welfare Act. It defines an “animal fighting venture” as any event in which at least two animals fight for sport, wagering, or entertainment, and it specifically covers birds.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2156 – Animal Fighting Venture Prohibition
The prohibition reaches well past the fight itself. Under the statute, it is a federal crime to:
- Sponsor or exhibit an animal in a fight.
- Attend a fight, or bring anyone under 16 to one.
- Buy, sell, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any animal intended for a fight.
- Use the mail or any form of interstate commerce to promote a fight or advertise fighting animals.
- Sell or ship knives, gaffs, or other fighting instruments across state lines.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2156 – Animal Fighting Venture Prohibition
Investigators can obtain search warrants for any animal believed to be involved in a violation and seize those animals as evidence. Property used in the operation can be subject to forfeiture.
Federal Penalties
Criminal penalties sit in 18 U.S.C. § 49 and depend on your role:2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 49 – Enforcement of Animal Fighting Prohibitions
- Sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in a fight, possessing or training animals for fighting, promoting a fight through interstate commerce, or dealing in fighting instruments: up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
- Attending a cockfight: up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
- Causing anyone under 16 to attend a cockfight: up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
These penalties apply per violation. Someone involved in multiple fights, or who moves birds across several state lines, can face stacking charges.
State Laws
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have independently outlawed cockfighting. Louisiana was the last state to act, passing its ban in 2007 with an effective date in August 2008. There has been no legal cockfighting at any level of U.S. government since.
What varies is how harshly each state punishes it. Cockfighting is a felony in 42 states and D.C. In the remaining states it may start as a misdemeanor, with repeat offenses or aggravating facts bumping it up to felony level. First-offense fines run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $25,000 depending on the state, and jail terms track the classification.
Spectator and possession laws also differ. Attending a cockfight is a state-law crime in 43 states and D.C. Possessing birds for fighting is prohibited in 39 states and D.C. In the few states that lack a specific spectator or possession statute, federal law still applies — anyone present at a cockfight anywhere in the country can be charged under 18 U.S.C. § 49.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 49 – Enforcement of Animal Fighting Prohibitions
U.S. Territories
Cockfighting continued in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa for years after every state had banned it. The 2018 Farm Bill closed that gap through the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, which extended the full federal prohibition to all U.S. territories. The change took effect in December 2019. Cockfighting is now a federal crime in every U.S. jurisdiction without exception.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2156 – Animal Fighting Venture Prohibition
Who Can Be Charged
Legal risk is not limited to the person running the pit. Federal and state laws together reach:
- Anyone who stages a fight, provides a venue, or promotes an event.
- Anyone who owns, breeds, or trains roosters for fighting, even before a fight takes place.
- Spectators.
- Anyone placing bets on a fight, which commonly produces separate illegal-gambling charges.
- Anyone who sells or possesses knives, gaffs, or other blades designed to attach to a bird’s leg.
- Anyone who moves fighting birds or equipment across state lines or international borders.
Immigration Consequences for Noncitizens
A cockfighting conviction can be devastating for anyone who is not a U.S. citizen. The Board of Immigration Appeals held in Matter of Ortega-Lopez (2018) that sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in a fight under 7 U.S.C. § 2156 is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude.3Department of Justice. Matter of Ortega-Lopez, 27 I&N Dec. 382 (BIA 2018) That classification makes a person ineligible for cancellation of removal regardless of how long they have lived in the country, and depending on the facts it can also trigger inadmissibility and deportation. For many noncitizens, the immigration fallout is more serious than the criminal sentence.
Charges That Commonly Come With It
Cockfighting cases rarely stop at animal cruelty counts. Illegal gambling almost always rides along, because spectators and owners wager on fight outcomes. In a 2025 federal prosecution in Alabama, attendees paid $40 at the door while competitors paid entry fees of $700 to $1,000 per bird, with the winner collecting a share of the prize pool.4Internal Revenue Service. Multiple Defendants Charged in Cockfighting and Illegal Gambling Operation IRS Criminal Investigation was part of that case because the operation generated unreported income, which brought tax charges alongside the animal-fighting counts.
Larger operations attract still more. Underground events move large amounts of cash with no paper trail, which draws money-laundering activity, and raids regularly turn up firearms and controlled substances along with the birds and blades. A single cockfighting bust can produce charges spanning animal cruelty, gambling, tax, drugs, and weapons offenses against dozens of defendants at once.