April 16, 2023
The Honorable Andy Beshear
Governor of Kentucky
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Attorney General Daniel Cameron Secretary Kerry Harvey
Office of the Attorney General Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
700 Capital Avenue, Suite 118 125 Holmes Avenue
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-3449 Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-2108
Dear Governor Beshear, Attorney General Cameron and Secretary Harvey,
On behalf of the animal protection organizations listed below, representing hundreds of
thousands of individuals, we are writing to urge you to initiate an investigation of the Kentucky
State Police (KSP) for that agency’s unacceptable, repeated failures to enforce state law. As
documented below, key KSP posts throughout the state have refused to act on credible and
reliable evidence of cockfighting derbies that feature acts of animal cruelty, gambling, tax
evasion, and other criminal conduct.
For many years, KSP has been aware of major cockfighting arenas throughout the state but it has
chosen to neither investigate nor take action to shut these facilities down. What appears to be
malfeasance has moved in the direction of corruption as KSP officers have been documented to
be present at these events.
Over the years, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) has repeatedly provided the
KSP with copies of upcoming fight schedules, undercover videos depicting cockfighting at
numerous locations, real-time drone video of cockfighting venues, mass complaint calls from the
public to plead with law enforcement to act, and other information that documented, beyond any
doubt, that crimes were being committed.
We can only conclude, based on this record of serial inaction in the face of reliable
documentation of crimes in progress, that the KSP is providing some measure of protection for
Kentucky’s cockfighters, especially so in Posts 3, 9, 10, and 11. The blatant protection of
cockfighting in Post 9 alone is a dereliction of duty and an abrogation of the rule of law.
We had provided information to lead personnel within Post 9 and other regional KSP operations
about illegal animal fighting and the associated crimes. When we saw no action taken in
response to our numerous reports of illegal activity, we subsequently raised the matter to central
command at KSP in Frankfort. There is no apparent rationale for KSP’s subsequent failure to
enforce the law except perhaps that central command shares the view that it is acceptable to
ignore the commission of violent crimes.
It is well known among law enforcement professionals nationwide that there are many other
crimes associated with cockfighting, these include drug trafficking, prostitution, illegal weapons,
gang and cartel activity, money laundering, illegal gambling, illegal immigrant gathering spots,
and more. We are especially concerned about the fact that minors often accompany adults to
these events, a criminal offense which is so serious that federal law classifies it as a federal
felony.
On behalf of SHARK and dozens of other organizations, we urge you to initiate a comprehensive
investigation into the possible corruption on the part of the Kentucky State Police with regard to
illegal cockfighting. We request that such an investigation be conducted by an outside
investigative body to determine how these serial failures to enforce the law could have occurred.
Our sources within the cockfighting community report that there may be as many as 100 illegal
fighting arenas in Kentucky. The owners and operators of cockfighting venues, where spectators
and entrants of fighting animals assemble at derbies to gambling on the outcomes of the fights,
are also undoubtedly guilty of violating several state anti-gambling laws. Such extensive animal-
fighting infrastructure and capacity is itself an indictment of the KSP and a testament to its
failure to investigate crimes and enforce the law. It is indeed troubling to know that the KSP
allows criminal enterprises to operate with impunity at such a large scale in Kentucky.
Cockfighters are currently retreating in some areas of the state only because of the efforts of
SHARK and other private organizations working to expose criminal behavior. We will continue
to provide detailed information about these crimes and share evidence of forthcoming and
ongoing cockfights to post leaders in the appropriate regions and to KSP central command in
Frankfort. However, we eagerly await word from your office that you will be initiating an
independent investigation into the claims we have made herein.
Law enforcement corruption is a corrosive force in a civil society and the evidence we have
provided warrants an immediate and comprehensive investigation.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Animals
Animals’ Angels
Animal Alliance Network
Animal Kindness Foundation
Animal Protection Affiliates
Animal Protection League of New Jersey
Animal Protection New Mexico
Animal Wellness Action
Animal Wellness Foundation
Center for a Humane Economy
Christian Animal Rights Association
Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research and Experimentation
Colorado Voters for Animals
Cultivate Empathy for All
Dharma Voices for Animals
Echo Animal Advocacy
Endangered Species Coalition
Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia
Footloose Montana
Georgia’s Place Bird Sanctuary
Global Coalition of Farm Sanctuaries
Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
Green Mountain Animal Defenders
Green Vegans and The New Human Ecology
Howling for Wolves
Humane Action Pennsylvania
Humane Farming Association
In Defense of Animals
JewishVeg
Kentuckians Against Cockfighting
Kentuckians Vote for Animals
Last Chance for Animals
League of Humane Voters - New Jersey
Mauritius Primate Rescue
Michelson Center for Public Policy
New Hampshire Animal Rights League
Oceanic Preservation Society
OceansWide
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Project Animal Freedom
Project Coyote
Protect Our Wildlife Vermont
Rise for Animals
Sanctuary Education Advisory Specialists
Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK)
Social Compassion in Legislation
SPCA International
The National Humane Education Society
Their Turn
United Poultry Concerns
Voices of Wildlife in New Hampshire
Voters for Animal Rights
West Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare
