OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) An investigation has uncovered what it says is more evidence of Oklahoma’s connection to worldwide cockfighting rings.

Cockfighting is illegal, not just in Oklahoma but across the country.

However, this new report says law enforcement here often ignores it despite tips and evidence.

The report says many roosters bred in Oklahoma are then shipped out of the country to fight, and ties those operations to bigger issues like drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and political corruption.

“Oklahoma has had an extraordinary amount of illegal cockfighting,” Wayne Pacelle, President of Animal Wellness Action, said.

An investigation by Animal Wellness Action spanning multiple years has now released to the public.

It shows ties between Oklahoma, Texas, and cockfighting worldwide.

“It is dangerous,” Thomas Pool, Veterinarian, said. ‘They recently started pulling dozens of bodies out of a lake there in southern Manila that were murdered as a result of these cockfighting operations.”

Investigators accuse a Dallas-area company, which calls itself a livestock shipping company, of trafficking roosters abroad.

The report also highlights the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission.

In the past, we have told you they supported bills to decriminalize cockfighting in Oklahoma.

In September, the Ethics Commission found evidence of campaign finance law violations, and ordered the group to shut down and pay a $10,000 fine.

Animal Wellness Action also says the commission illegally raised campaign funds by selling birds and using the money to influence state lawmakers.

“It is embarrassing, but it is true,” Pool, who is from Oklahoma, said.

Veterinarians warn that cockfighting can add to the bird flu epidemic as well.

“There is a link between cockfighters and the commercial poultry industry, because a lot of times the people who participate in the cockfighting also work on the poultry farms, so they vector the disease,” Jim Keen, Veterinarian, said.

They’re now calling on federal agencies to pass bipartisan legislation to give law enforcement more authority to prosecute animal-fighting crimes.

“Really, it is up to the United States and to the states to enforce our laws,” Pacelle said. “We are shouting from the rooftops that cockfighting comes with a crime wave, it comes with a wave of avian disease. There is no redeeming value to the activity. It is not something that should be tolerated. It is a serious violent crime, co-mingled with other crimes. When you arrest a cockfighter, you are making a community safer, making agriculture safer.”

The report also says that while Oklahoma has strong penalties for cockfighting, including prison time, enforcement of those laws is usually weak, and charges are often downgraded or dismissed altogether.