A 50-year-old Oakdale man is facing criminal charges after animal control officers say a follow-up visit to a Forest Lake property in November 2025 uncovered an alleged cockfighting operation, complete with dead roosters, birds with their natural spurs removed, and video evidence of fights. Chou Yang was charged via summons in Washington County District Court on August 27, accused of one felony and one gross misdemeanor count of animal cruelty.
According to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, the case began when animal control conducted a follow-up visit to the property, prompting officers to obtain a search warrant. During that search, investigators found numerous dead chickens in the yard, along with a training carpet, equipment, and medical supplies associated with cockfighting. Authorities seized seven live chickens, including six roosters and one hen, and collected four dead roosters as evidence.
Videos and Blood Marks Tied to the Property
Investigators say they were shown videos that allegedly depicted cockfighting at the property, and detectives reportedly matched blood marks visible in the footage to specific spots on the site, according to the same report. Officers also found birds whose natural spurs had been removed, a detail investigators say is consistent with cockfighting preparation. Animal control officers additionally found dogs believed to be living in inadequate conditions on the property, leading authorities to obtain an additional search warrant.
After the search, Yang called animal control himself and reported that one rooster and two transport boxes were missing, per the outlet's account. He also told investigators, according to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court, that he had ordered a medication from Thailand. Yang denied owning the other seized equipment found on the property.
Property Ownership Remains an Open Question
The charges are connected to a property belonging to another person, and as of the filing, that property owner is not facing charges in connection with the case. It remains unclear what role, if any, the property owner played in the alleged operation, and whether that will change as the case proceeds through Washington County District Court.
Minnesota's Animal Fighting Laws
Under Minnesota Statutes § 343.31, promoting, engaging in, or possessing and training an animal for cockfighting is a felony offense, while possessing devices or substances intended to enhance an animal's fighting ability — such as artificial spurs or specialized drugs — is a gross misdemeanor, according to the Minnesota Revisor's Office. Separately, Minnesota Statutes § 343.21 makes intentionally torturing, cruelly beating, or unjustifiably killing an animal a felony when the act results in substantial bodily harm, great bodily harm, or death, carrying penalties of up to two years in prison and fines up to $5,000.
This isn't the first cockfighting case to surface in the Twin Cities east-metro area. In February 2020, Anoka County prosecutors charged two Ramsey residents with felony animal cruelty after investigators uncovered a cockfighting ring and seized 61 malnourished roosters and hens along with fighting DVDs, steroids, and antibiotics, according to CBS News. Two months later, the Chisago County Sheriff's Office raided an active cockfighting derby in Sunrise Township, just northeast of Washington County, arresting a Maplewood man after a vehicle pursuit and detaining nine other participants.
A Statewide Enforcement Gap
Forest Lake itself has a history with this issue — Minnesota Public Radio reported in 2011 that the city had already enacted a local ordinance prohibiting staged animal fights, which had pushed organizers to hold events elsewhere. But statewide tracking remains limited. A study published by Bench & Bar of Minnesota found that primary jurisdiction for enforcing animal cruelty statutes rests with municipal police departments and county sheriff's offices, and that Minnesota lacks a centralized state office tracking animal fighting convictions and dismissals across its 87 counties.
The Animal Humane Society, which says it employs the only full-time paid humane investigators in Minnesota, handles more than 1,600 reports of animal neglect or abuse annually and has responded to over 430 cases involving more than 5,700 animals statewide. Advocacy groups have also pushed federal lawmakers toward the bipartisan FIGHT Act, which would amend the Animal Welfare Act to ban online gambling on animal fighting and prohibit mature rooster shipments through the U.S. Postal Service, arguing that cockfighting rings are frequently linked to illicit gambling and drug trade.
Whether the source of the medication Yang says he ordered from Thailand, or any interstate movement of birds or equipment, draws additional scrutiny from federal authorities remains unknown. Under federal law, sponsoring, exhibiting, or possessing animals for fighting ventures involving interstate commerce is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, though no indication of federal involvement in this case has been reported.
