The Chilton County family cockfighting operation involved an arena with stadium seating that fit 150 people and had several rings to hosts cockfights. The operation began in 2018 and ran through June 11, 2021. More details:
A recent investigation into the international cockfighting trade has led investigators back to Alabama.Seven members of an Alabama family have been federally sentenced in connection with cockfighting and bird breeding operations in Chilton County.
“With the help of six of his family members, Jim Easterling owned and operated the cockfighting pit for many years, even enlisting his granddaughter, Amber Easterling, to sell weapons used to kill birds in cockfights at the merchandise stand.”The illegal derbies involved a series of cockfights in which at least two or more roosters fought each other, each with a sharp blade attached to its leg. The fights were conducted for the purpose of sport, wagering, and entertainment.
All of the defendants were sentenced in recent weeks following guilty pleas that were entered in June and August. • On Dec. 6, George William “Billy” Easterling sentenced to 22 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for violating the Animal Welfare Act’s prohibition against animal fighting and for conspiring with others to violate the Act in connection with the cockfighting pit and the Swift Creek Gamefarm fighting-bird breeding operation.
• On Nov. 30, William Colon “Jim” Easterling, 77, was sentenced to two years of home detention — rather than incarceration which the court determined would be “extremely detrimental” to his declining health — and a fine of $8,000 for violating the Animal Welfare Act’s prohibition against animal fighting ventures and for conspiring with others to violate the Act and to operate an illegal gambling business in connection with the cockfighting pit.
“These sentences demonstrate the importance of enforcing the Animal Welfare Act to ensure the humane treatment of animals and prohibit cruel practices such as cockfighting,” Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Sandra Stewart.
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