When the Wayne County Sheriff's Department arrested Dustin Lee Smith, 30, from Fort Gay, on felony drug charges and 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, they found 131 live roosters, three dead roosters, and at least nine trophies, adorned with plastic roosters.
Authorities also found several knives, gaffs (small knives strapped to roosters' legs) and other equipment associated with cockfighting.
Officers learned of the ring through an anonymous tip to Huntington Cabell Wayne Humane Officer Scott Iseli.
Leighann Lassiter, with the Humane Society of the United States, said cockfighters are attracted to West Virginia because the state only charges misdemeanors for animal cruelty.
"Cockfighting tends to be the most prevalent in the states with the weakest laws," Lassiter said.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin recently signed a bill that makes cockfighting a felony in West Virginia, but that would only be after multiple offenses.
Lassiter said that cockfighting is mostly driven by gambling.
"Those gambling winnings often outweigh the fine that's imposed if they get caught." Lassiter said.