Support for cockfighting group leads to criticism for Oklahoma governor

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is under fire this week after he recorded a video voicing support for a cockfighting organization at its annual meeting.

Animal rights groups and fellow Oklahoma politicians went after Stitt for leaving a message for the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, a political action group that lobbies for lessened penalties for participation in cockfighting — which is illegal.

“I wanted to take a moment to cheer you on from the sidelines,” Stitt said in the message. “You all know Oklahoma’s long and storied history with game fowl, from statehood to today. Oklahomans like yourselves remain dedicated to the spirit of competition and camaraderie that runs deep in our communities.”

The group has donated more than $70,000 to Oklahoma politicians, including $2,000 to Stitt, according to The Oklahoman.

Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states and has been since Louisiana became the last to outlaw it in 2007.

The nonprofit Animal Wellness Action, as well as former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R) and former state Attorney General Drew Edmondson (D) blasted Stitt’s message as an “embarrassment” and “toxic to the idea of economic development and forward progress for our great state.”

“Cockfighting is every bit as cruel and backwards now as when I actively supported the ballot initiative 20 years ago, when voters decisively outlawed knife fights between animals,” Keating said in a statement. “It is an embarrassment to me that any elected official seeks to turn back the clock on this morally settled issue.”

The Hill has reached out to Stitt’s office for comment.

Oklahoma outlawed cockfighting in a ballot measure in 2002.

“Cockfighting is barbaric and bound up with other crimes,” Edmondson said in a statement. “Governor Stitt is associating himself with lawlessness, and that’s not a proper role for any statewide elected official.”

Two bills introduced into the state Legislature to reduce cockfighting charges to a misdemeanor failed to pass this year. Both were lobbied for by the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission.

“Governor Stitt’s barely concealed embrace of cockfighting is both jarring and unique in American politics,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “No other governor in any state during my 30 years of work on this issue has ever signaled support for staged animal fighting. Any politician supporting it embraces animal cruelty and lawlessness.”