{"id":247296,"date":"2022-12-09T08:07:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T14:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=247296"},"modified":"2022-12-09T11:17:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T17:17:09","slug":"alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Family That Built Cockfighting \u2018Stadium\u2019 Imprisoned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven members of an Alabama family have been handed federal prison sentences for operating one of the \u201clargest cockfighting enterprises<\/a>\u201d in the US, according to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

\"Cockfighting\"
An image of a cockfight in Assam, India. The Easterling\u2019s arena in Verbena, AL. included \u201cstadium seating\u201d and a merchandise stall selling gaffs and slashers. (Image: EPA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three generations of the Easterling family of Verbena, Ala., aged between 25 and 77, helped run a cockfighting arena. The venue included \u201cstadium seating\u201d for 150 people, and even had a merchandise stand, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The family also managed two breeding farms that produced thousands of fighting birds for use in the illegal blood sport.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The final member to be sentenced was George \u201cBilly\u201d Easterling, 56, who on Tuesday received 22 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for violating the Animal Welfare Act\u2019s (AWA) prohibition against animal fighting.<\/p>\n

George\u2019s brother, Brent Easterling, 38, was described by prosecutors as “one of the most widely-known fighting-bird breeders in the country.\u201d He could charge up to $1,500 for his roosters because of their \u201cselect fighting pedigrees,\u201d per court documents. He was handed a 24-month sentence on November 30.<\/p>\n

Gaffs and Slashers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Family patriarch William \u201cJim\u201d Easterling, 77, was the owner of the cockfighting arena. He was sentenced to two years of home detention and a fine of $8,000 for violating the Animal Welfare Act and operating an illegal gambling business. The court determined that a prison sentence would be detrimental to his declining health.<\/p>\n

\n

Cockfighting bouts typically involve spectators placing bets on birds that then fight to the death, usually with hooked razors known as \u201cgaffs\u201d or \u201cslashers\u201d attached to their talons. These avian assault weapons were among the items on sale at the arena\u2019s merchandise stand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prosecutors concluded that the fights were conducted purely for the purposes of \u201csport, wagering, and entertainment.\u201d And for the Easterlings profit. Jim Easterling charged participants from across the US expensive entry fees, such as $1,500 to fight seven birds at his cock pit.<\/p>\n

The patriarch has since dismantled the arena, which was one of the conditions of his plea deal.<\/p>\n

Illegal Since 2002<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cockfighting has been illegal in 50 states since a 2002 amendment to AWA made it a misdemeanor to ship, exhibit, or sponsor birds for fighting.<\/p>\n

Five years later, President George W. Bush signed into law the Animal Fighting Prohibition Reinforcement Act (AFPRA), which made the crime a felony.<\/p>\n

\n

AFPRA also made it an offense to \u201cknowingly sell, buy, transport, or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It is also illegal in most states to be a spectator at a cockfight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seven members of an Alabama family have been handed federal prison sentences for operating one of the \u201clargest cockfighting enterprises\u201d in the US, according to the Department of Justice. Three generations of the Easterling family of Verbena, Ala., aged between 25 and 77, helped run a cockfighting arena. The venue included \u201cstadium seating\u201d for 150 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":247297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[81997,81962,84065],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlabama Family That Built Cockfighting \u2018Stadium\u2019 Imprisoned<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Easterling family of Verbena, Al., bred prize cockfighting birds and operated an arena with stadium seating for 150 people.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama Family That Built Cockfighting \u2018Stadium\u2019 Imprisoned\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Easterling family of Verbena, Al., bred prize cockfighting birds and operated an arena with stadium seating for 150 people.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-09T14:07:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-09T17:17:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cockfight.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/\",\"name\":\"Alabama Family That Built Cockfighting \u2018Stadium\u2019 Imprisoned\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cockfight.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-09T14:07:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-09T17:17:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"The Easterling family of Verbena, Al., bred prize cockfighting birds and operated an arena with stadium seating for 150 people.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-family-that-built-cockfighting-stadium-imprisoned\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cockfight.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cockfight.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"An image of a cockfight in Assam, India. 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