Korean Air has announced it will no longer accept shipments of roosters to the Philippines, cutting off what animal welfare groups say was a key pipeline for the international cockfighting trade.
The policy change follows a series of investigations by Animal Wellness Action, the Center for a Humane Economy, and the Dallas Morning News, which traced the movement of tens of thousands of fighting birds from farms in the United States to buyers in the Philippines.
How the trade worked
Investigators found that fighting roosters were being shipped from gamefowl farms in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas to brokers, including one operation called North Texas Livestock Shipping in Dallas. From there, the birds were flown on Korean Air to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in Manila via Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea.
Wayne Pacelle, President of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, said Korean Air appeared to be unaware it was transporting birds destined for fighting.
“It’s apparent, based on our discussions with Korean Air, that it was an unwitting carrier of fighting birds,” Pacelle said. “We applaud the company for agreeing to address the criminal trade we pinpointed and end any transport of live roosters.”
He added that the decision cuts off what he estimated to be as much as US$80 million in illegal revenues for American cockfighters selling birds to buyers in the Philippines.
A massive industry in the Philippines
Cockfighting, known locally as “sabong”, has deep roots in Philippine culture and remains legal in the country. But the scale of the industry has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly with the rise of online betting.
In 2022, the Philippine government reported over US$13 billion in wagers on e-sabong, or online cockfighting. Some estimates suggest the country imports up to 40,000 fighting birds annually from the United States, with a single rooster selling for as much as US$2,000.
The World Slasher Cup, held in Manila in late January 2026, drew thousands of spectators and featured 800 animal fights over six days. Undercover investigators from Animal Wellness Action attended the event and documented what they saw.
Kevin Chambers, senior investigator for the organization, said dozens of American cockfighters took part in the event and supplied birds that had been transported on commercial aircraft.
“These birds traveled via Korean Air,” Chambers said. “No fight was called off until at least one bird was killed, and many battles resulted in both animals perishing.”
Violence linked to the trade
Cockfighting operations have been tied to serious violence in several countries. In Mexico and Ecuador, incidents at cockfighting venues have resulted in mass casualties. In the Philippines, hundreds of murders have been linked to disputes connected to the trade.
Col. Tom Pool, a retired US Army veterinarian who previously served as Guam’s territorial veterinarian, said he has witnessed the brutality of the industry firsthand.
“I’ve seen firsthand how entrenched and barbaric the cockfighting industry is in the Philippines and Vietnam,” Pool said. “It’s an organized crime racket involving murder, money laundering, and high-stakes gambling.”
Pool noted that Congress outlawed the foreign transport of fighting animals back in 2002, but the law has been largely ignored. He described Korean Air’s decision as “the start of the dismantling of this organized animal trafficking.”
Legislation in the works
Korean Air’s announcement comes amid growing pressure from US lawmakers. In February, Rep. Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas who chairs the House Subcommittee on Aviation, introduced the No Flight, No Fight Act. The bill would prohibit the shipment of roosters on commercial airlines and other air carriers.
Pacelle credited the legislation with pushing Korean Air to act. “You can directly link the introduction of Chairman Nehls’ bill to this week’s Korean Air announcement,” he said.
The bill has gained bipartisan support, with nearly 200 endorsers including the National Sheriffs’ Association and state law enforcement groups from Alabama to Wisconsin. A related bill, the FIGHT Act, has drawn support from more than 1,100 organizations, including 500 law enforcement agencies and major poultry companies.
Health concerns add urgency
Beyond animal cruelty and criminal activity, there are also public health concerns tied to the trade. Pool noted that the current global H5N1 bird flu pandemic has been traced back to the trafficking of fighting birds originating in Thailand.
Marcus Rust, Chief Innovations Officer at Rose Acre Farms, one of the largest egg producers in the United States, said his company has lost five million birds to the pandemic since it reached American shores in 2022. The company has partnered with Animal Wellness Action to promote the No Flight, No Fight Act.
Rust pointed out that fighting birds are shipped internationally because of their high value, unlike birds raised for meat or eggs. “Only cockfighting animals carry the extraordinary value that justifies these expensive international shipments,” he said.
While Korean Air has agreed to halt rooster shipments, other airlines reportedly continue to accept them. Currently, Philippine Airlines and Cathay Pacific still transport live birds to the Philippines.
US airlines do not accept live bird shipments to the country.