Cockfighting Laws in Washington: Felony Charges, Penalties, and What Counts as a Crime
October 31, 2026
If you think only the person running a cockfight faces criminal charges in Washington, the law says otherwise. Under the state’s cockfighting laws in Washington, simply watching a fight, bringing a child to one, or keeping a rooster you intend to pit against another bird can expose you to the same felony-level risk as the organizer.
This guide walks through what Washington’s animal fighting statute actually covers, how it classifies offenses, what happens to seized birds, and where federal law adds another layer of exposure on top of state charges. You will also find the narrow space where lawful gamefowl ownership, breeding, and showing still exist.
Important Note: This article explains Washington’s cockfighting statutes for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. If you are facing a charge or investigation, consult a licensed Washington criminal defense attorney.
Is Cockfighting Illegal in Washington?
Yes. Washington does not have a statute that names cockfighting specifically; instead, the practice falls under the state’s broader animal fighting law, RCW 16.52.117, which applies to any animal used in staged combat, including roosters. A person commits the crime of animal fighting if the person knowingly does any of the following, causes a minor to do any of the following, or aids or abets any of the following.
The list of prohibited conduct is long and deliberately broad. Under the statute, it is illegal to:
- Own, possess, keep, breed, train, buy, sell, or advertise or offer for sale any animal with the intent that the animal shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting with another animal
- Promote, organize, conduct, participate in, be a spectator of, advertise, prepare, or perform any service in the furtherance of an exhibition of animal fighting, transport spectators to an animal fight, or provide or serve as a stakeholder for any money wagered on an animal fight
- Keep or use any place for the purpose of animal fighting, or manage or accept payment of admission to any place kept or used for the purpose of animal fighting
- Steal, take, lead away, possess, confine, sell, transfer, or receive an animal with the intent of using the animal for animal fighting, or for training or baiting for the purpose of animal fighting
- Own, possess, buy, sell, transfer, or manufacture animal fighting paraphernalia for the purpose of engaging in, promoting, or facilitating animal fighting
The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s compendium of state animal protection laws classifies this statute as a class C felony, placing Washington among the stricter states in the country for cockfighting enforcement. Because the law covers intent rather than just a completed fight, you don’t need an actual match in progress for charges to apply.
Is Cockfighting a Felony or a Misdemeanor in Washington?
Cockfighting itself is a felony in Washington, not a misdemeanor. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class C felony punishable under RCW 9A.20.021. That classification applies whether you’re the organizer, a breeder selling birds into a fighting ring, or someone paying admission to watch.
A 2025 legislative update changed how courts rank these felonies for sentencing purposes. Previously, animal fighting charges were unranked within the state’s sentencing grid, which meant inconsistent sentences from county to county. The legislature’s enacted fix amended the sentencing statute directly, giving animal fighting convictions a defined seriousness level so judges apply penalties more uniformly statewide.
This felony classification separates Washington from states that treat cockfighting as a misdemeanor for first offenses. It also puts the crime in roughly the same tier as Washington’s dog fighting-related breed restrictions, which you can review in our American Bully laws in Washington guide, since both share the same underlying animal fighting statute.
| Offense | Classification | Potential Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Animal fighting (base offense) | Class C felony | Up to 5 years confinement, up to $10,000 fine, or both |
| Animal fighting with intentional mutilation | Class C felony, ranked seriousness level | Sentence set by the state sentencing grid |
| Violating a post-conviction ownership ban (1st violation) | Misdemeanor | Set by local court |
| Violating a post-conviction ownership ban (2nd violation) | Gross misdemeanor | Set by local court |
| Violating a post-conviction ownership ban (3rd+ violation) | Class C felony | Up to 5 years confinement, up to $10,000 fine, or both |
Is It a Crime to Watch a Cockfight or Bring a Child to One in Washington?
Yes. Washington’s statute explicitly names spectators, not just organizers. A person commits the crime of animal fighting if the person knowingly promotes, organizes, conducts, participates in, is a spectator of, advertises, prepares, or performs any service in the furtherance of an exhibition of animal fighting. Buying a ticket, standing in the crowd, or driving others to the event all fall inside that language.
Bringing a minor adds a separate layer of exposure rather than a lesser one. A person commits the crime of animal fighting if the person knowingly does any of the following, causes a minor to do any of the following, or aids or abets any of the following. In practice, that means causing a child to attend, participate in, or help with a cockfight can be charged under the same felony provisions that apply to adult spectators.
Key Insight: Washington’s spectator provision means you don’t have to touch a bird, place a bet, or own the property to face felony exposure. Simply watching knowingly is enough under RCW 16.52.117.
Owning, Breeding, Training, or Selling Roosters for Fighting in Washington
Intent is the legal trigger for this part of the statute, not whether a fight ever actually happens. Owning, possessing, keeping, breeding, training, buying, selling, or advertising or offering for sale any animal with the intent that the animal shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting with another animal is enough on its own to support a felony charge.
This provision is what gives law enforcement a path to charge breeding and sales operations before a single fight occurs. A 2021 raid in Kent illustrates the scale these operations can reach: Regional Animal Services of King County officers executed a search warrant on a Kent property and removed 92 chickens, most of them roosters, reportedly raised and trained for cockfighting. Investigators believed the birds were being raised, trained, and sold for fighting, and continued investigating buyers who may have been actively fighting the birds.
If you’re involved in legitimate poultry breeding, the distinction matters. Our guides on dog breeding laws in Washington and transporting livestock laws in Washington cover related recordkeeping and transport rules that can help document a lawful breeding or sales operation if your gamefowl practices are ever questioned.
Possessing Gaffs, Knives, and Other Cockfighting Implements in Washington
Washington’s law doesn’t stop at live birds. Owning, possessing, buying, selling, transferring, or manufacturing animal fighting paraphernalia for the purpose of engaging in, promoting, or facilitating animal fighting, or for baiting a live animal for the purpose of animal fighting carries the same class C felony exposure as the fight itself.
Gaffs and knives are the implements most commonly seized in Washington cockfighting cases. As one report on a King County raid described: roosters often wear knives or artificial gaffs, long, dagger-like attachments that are sharp enough to puncture a lung, pierce an eye, or break bones in order to inflict maximum injury. Possessing these items for a fighting purpose, even without a bird present, satisfies the statute’s paraphernalia provision.
This part of the law overlaps conceptually with how Washington regulates other animal-related equipment; see our hunting laws in Washington guide for a comparison of how the state treats possession of specialized gear tied to animal use.
Hosting a Cockfight or Allowing One on Your Property in Washington
Property owners face felony exposure even when they aren’t the ones organizing the fight. Keeping or using any place for the purpose of animal fighting, or managing or accepting payment of admission to any place kept or used for the purpose of animal fighting is enough to trigger a charge on its own.
The statute reaches further than active hosting. Suffering or permitting any place over which the person has possession or control to be occupied, kept, or used for the purpose of an exhibition of animal fighting means landlords, land owners, and even tenants who knowingly let someone else use their barn, basement, or backyard for a fight can be charged alongside the organizer.
If you manage rental property or shared land in Washington, it’s worth reviewing how animal-related liability works more broadly. Our nuisance wildlife laws in Washington and feral dog laws in Washington guides cover related property-owner responsibilities when animals, legal or not, end up on land you control.
Penalties for Cockfighting Offenses in Washington: Fines, Jail or Prison, and Repeat Convictions
A base animal fighting conviction in Washington is punishable by up to five years in a state correctional facility, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, consistent with the class C felony sentencing structure under RCW 9A.20.021. Courts determine the actual sentence using the state’s sentencing grid, which weighs the offense’s seriousness level against the defendant’s prior criminal history.
The 2025 legislative session made two significant changes that affect repeat offenders. First, the law now imposes a permanent prohibition on owning, caring for, possessing, or residing with any animal following a first conviction for animal fighting, closing a gap that previously existed. A 2024 case out of Snohomish County highlighted that gap directly: despite the defendant’s conviction, Washington’s prior animal fighting law under RCW 16.52.117 did not include a provision prohibiting the convicted individual from owning animals in the future.
Second, violating that new ownership ban now carries its own escalating penalty track separate from the underlying animal fighting charge. A first violation of the ban is a misdemeanor, a second is a gross misdemeanor, and a third or subsequent violation becomes its own class C felony, giving prosecutors a tool to pursue repeat violators who keep acquiring birds after a conviction.
Pro Tip: If you’ve been convicted of animal fighting in Washington, confirm the exact scope of your ownership ban with your attorney before acquiring any animal, including pets unrelated to poultry. The 2025 changes apply the ban broadly, not just to gamefowl.
Seizure of Birds, Forfeiture, and Related Gambling Charges in Washington
Animal control officers and police don’t need to wait for a completed investigation to remove birds from a suspected fighting operation. Washington law enforcement routinely partners with specialized agencies during these raids; the Kent raid involved Kent Police, city code enforcement officers, and an agent from the Washington State Gambling Commission, reflecting how closely wagering and animal fighting charges tend to travel together.
That gambling angle matters because cockfighting derbies almost always involve money changing hands on which bird wins. When investigators find evidence of wagering, suspects can face additional charges under Washington’s gambling statutes on top of the animal fighting felony, compounding potential penalties. Seized birds typically become evidence and are held by the agency that executed the warrant, with ultimate disposition, whether forfeiture, rehoming, or euthanasia for injured animals, determined through the court process.
For a broader look at how Washington handles animals removed from unsafe or illegal situations, our wildlife removal laws in Washington guide covers the general seizure and custody process that applies across different animal-related offenses.
Federal Animal Fighting Law That Applies Alongside Washington Law
A Washington cockfighting case rarely stops at the state line. The federal Animal Welfare Act prohibits animal fighting ventures that involve interstate or foreign commerce, such as birds, paraphernalia, or spectators crossing state lines, and sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in such a venture can carry its own federal felony exposure separate from any state charge.
Federal law also makes it a crime to knowingly attend an animal fighting venture as a spectator, or to knowingly cause a minor to attend one, with penalties that include fines in addition to possible imprisonment. Because Washington’s state statute already criminalizes spectating and involving minors, a single cockfighting event can expose participants to charges on both the state and federal level at the same time, with separate prosecutors deciding independently whether to pursue a case.
Legal Rooster and Gamefowl Ownership in Washington: Shows, Breeding, and Exemptions
Owning gamefowl, including breeds historically associated with fighting such as American Game or Old English Game varieties, is not illegal in Washington on its own. The statute’s trigger is intent: the law applies when a person owns, possesses, keeps, breeds, trains, buys, sells, or advertises or offers for sale any animal with the intent that the animal shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting with another animal. Without that intent, raising, showing, or selling gamefowl for ornamental, exhibition, or egg-production purposes falls outside the criminal statute.
The statute’s written exceptions are narrow and focus on livestock management rather than gamefowl specifically. Nothing in this section prohibits the use of dogs in the management of livestock by the owner of the livestock or the owner’s employees, agents, or other persons in lawful custody of the livestock, which shows the exemption language was written with herding dogs in mind, not poultry shows. That means legitimate gamefowl breeders rely on the absence of fighting intent, not a specific carve-out, to stay on the lawful side of the line.
If you breed or show gamefowl in Washington, keeping documentation such as show entries, sale receipts, and breeding records can help demonstrate lawful purpose if your flock ever draws law enforcement attention. For related recordkeeping practices, see our guides on beekeeping laws in Washington and livestock microchipping laws in Washington, both of which cover how Washington handles identification and oversight for regulated animal-keeping hobbies.
How to Report Suspected Cockfighting in Washington
If you suspect a cockfighting operation in your area, Washington gives you several reporting paths depending on what you’ve observed:
- Contact local animal control or your county sheriff’s office if you’ve seen birds being kept in fighting conditions, heard sounds consistent with a fight, or noticed unusual foot traffic at a property.
- Notify the Washington State Gambling Commission if you have information suggesting wagering is involved, since gambling investigators often assist animal control during raids.
- Call your regional humane society or animal services agency, such as Regional Animal Services of King County, which has led prior cockfighting raids in the state.
- Document from a safe distance only. Note dates, addresses, vehicle descriptions, and approximate bird counts rather than approaching the property yourself.
- Report cross-state trafficking of fighting birds or equipment to federal authorities, since interstate movement can trigger parallel federal charges.
Reports don’t need to be anonymous, but most agencies accept them that way if you’re concerned about safety. For general guidance on when and how to involve animal control in Washington for non-emergency animal issues, our leash laws in Washington guide outlines how local enforcement typically handles animal complaints.
Washington’s cockfighting laws cover far more ground than the fight itself, reaching breeders, spectators, property owners, and anyone who profits from the activity. Whether you’re trying to stay compliant as a lawful gamefowl owner or deciding whether to report something you’ve witnessed, understanding where intent, possession, and property responsibility intersect under RCW 16.52.117 is the first step toward acting within the law.