OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Cockfighting is dead in Oklahoma after a long battle that moved from the voting booth to the courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to hear the final appeal in the dispute without comment, the Oklahoman reported.
Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly voted to ban the practice two years ago but a court battle ensued. The Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld the ban last March and that decision now stands.
James Tally, president of the Oklahoma Game Fowl Breeders Association, said the gamecock fighting business is now dead in the state.
"With a felony hanging over their head, I don't think anybody would be fighting chickens," he told the Oklahoman.
Oklahoma authorities have filed cases in at least two counties since the ban was enacted two years ago.
Cockfighting is still allowed in New Mexico and Louisiana.
