A federal grand jury has indicted an eastern Kentucky man who allegedly operated a cockfighting arena in Letcher County in 2021 and 2022. Two other Kentucky men and three people from other states were also indicted. Steve Hindi, the CEO and cofounder of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, said the federal charges are good news – but compared them to taking a thimble-full of water from the ocean.
“The job really needs to be done by Kentuckians. This is a Kentucky issue. A Kentucky problem. These are Kentucky criminals and criminals coming from out of state.”
Hindi said cockfights are a breeding ground for avian influenza, which has wiped out massive flocks of poultry and can spread to other animals and occasionally, humans. He said over the past three years, his group has presented undercover video and advance knowledge of cockfighting rings to state police and local law enforcement – who ignored the evidence.
“When you can provide them with a schedule for an entire season, and they never once deal with it? I mean, how many times is that right there? It's dozens and dozens and dozens.”
In response, the state Justice Cabinet issued a statement with links to two news releases from the U.S. Attorney’s office showing a total of 28 Kentucky arrests in the past two years. According to the releases, Kentucky State Police participated in both cases.
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