TULSA, Okla. — Animal Wellness Action, a Washington D.C. animal advocacy group, released a new report after investigating a cockfighting operation that spans from Tulsa to Dallas.

The investigation, done in part with Show Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), finds a network allegedly centered around cockfighting, but also includes illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, tax evasion, political corruption and money laundering, said Animal Wellness Action.

“We’ve uncovered an organized crime network that is not only violent but also vast in its global reach,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “Animal fighting is a crime wave in action, and when ignored, it puts communities at risk and breeds lawlessness.”

Animal Wellness Action said the “Texoma Cockfighting Corridor” allegedly sends animals to fighting pits in the area between Tulsa and Dallas, but also ships birds to Mexico and the Philippines.

“We have documented a supply chain of wanton cruelty that stretches across state borders all the way to the world’s largest cockfighting arena in the Philippines,” said Kevin Chambers, state director of Animal Wellness Action in Oklahoma. “The ill-gotten gains from this illegal trade fuel an underground network of cockfighting and associated crimes in communities across the Texoma Corridor.”

Animal Wellness Action claims the investigation found the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission illegally raised campaign funds for state lawmakers by selling fighting birds.

“These pits aren’t backyard operations — they’re hubs for narcotics, illegal gambling, and sometimes even human trafficking,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. “The violence doesn’t end in the ring and the people involved are lawbreakers through and through.”

You can read the entire report by clicking here.