DFW-to-Manila Cockfighting Pipeline shutdown

Airline’s policy shift cuts off major Texas-linked live bird route as lawmakers and animal welfare groups push for broader bans on fighting bird transport.

By André Averion, Communications Chair

Published May 1st, 2026

A live-animal cargo route linking North Texas to the Philippines has been disrupted after Korean Air announced it will no longer transport roosters from the United States to Manila, a move that cuts off what investigators describe as a major pipeline for the international cockfighting trade.

“This is, without question, the most significant corporate action ever taken against cockfighting,” said Wayne Pacelle, founder of Animal Wellness Action, in a statement following the airline’s decision. “But we understand very well that these organized crime networks are adaptive.”

The policy shift is already reverberating through North Texas, where investigators say breeders and shipping brokers helped funnel thousands of birds annually through Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport to buyers overseas. Advocacy groups and reporting by the Dallas Morning News tied the route to shipments labeled as “breeding stock,” a designation critics say masked their eventual use in cockfighting operations abroad.

The decision by Korean Air effectively severs a key air corridor that linked gamefowl operations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi to cockfighting hubs in the Philippines. Investigators say birds were transported through DFW, routed via Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, and ultimately delivered to Manila, where cockfighting, locally known as sabong, remains a legal and highly lucrative gambling industry.

Animal welfare organizations say the shipments helped sustain a global underground economy built around fighting birds. They estimate tens of thousands of roosters were moved annually from the United States to the Philippines, where individual birds can fetch thousands of dollars and betting on fights generates billions in wagers.

The controversy intensified after undercover investigations and media reports in 2025 and 2026 documented alleged links between North Texas shipping brokers and international cockfighting events, including the World Slasher Cup in Manila, one of the sport’s largest gatherings. Those findings spurred federal attention and prompted calls for stricter oversight of live animal air cargo. 

At the center of the issue is a longstanding legal gray area. While cockfighting is illegal across all 50 U.S. states, federal law does not explicitly prohibit transporting roosters for breeding purposes, a loophole critics say has been exploited to move fighting birds overseas under legitimate agricultural paperwork. 

The airline has said its suspension applies broadly to rooster shipments from the United States to the Philippines and is intended to ensure compliance with animal transport regulations. Company representatives have not specified whether the policy will expand to other destinations where cockfighting is prevalent or how long the restriction will remain in place.

Lawmakers are now pushing to make the change permanent. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, has introduced the “No Flight, No Fight Act,” which would bar commercial airlines from transporting adult roosters in most cases, a proposal backed by animal welfare advocates who argue voluntary corporate bans are not enough. 

For North Texas, the immediate impact is logistical as much as symbolic. The DFW cargo route had served as a major transit point in what investigators describe as a global supply chain connecting U.S. breeders to overseas fighting arenas. With Korean Air’s withdrawal, advocates say that pipeline is now significantly disrupted; though likely not eliminated.

Animal welfare groups and federal lawmakers are expected to continue pressing for expanded bans and tighter enforcement across airlines and cargo carriers. Meanwhile, investigators say they will monitor whether shipments shift to alternative routes or carriers as the industry adapts to the new restrictions.