Chester woman sentenced for her role in cockfighting enterprise

Jennifer Scott was using her property in New Hampshire to raise and train roosters for cockfighting (Courtesy photo)

CONCORD - A Chester woman was sentenced on Friday today in federal court for her involvement in illegal cockfighting activities in New Hampshire and North Carolina.

Jennifer Scott, 42, was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $2,500.

As a term of her probation, the defendant is prohibited from owning or raising roosters or chickens.

In October 2025, Scott pleaded guilty to one count of Attending an Animal Fighting Venture.

According to court documents, the defendant had been using her property in New Hampshire to raise and train roosters for cockfighting. On several occasions, she transported roosters to North Carolina, where she traded them and had them participate in illegal cockfighting events, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. During a search warrant executed on her property, law enforcement recovered sparring muffs used to train roosters for cockfighting, a sparring aid used to entice roosters to attack the simulated opponent, 76 roosters, 84 hens, 261 juvenile chickens, and an egg incubator.

"The defendant participated in a multistate cockfighting venture and profited from animal cruelty," said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan. "The conduct was extensive, involving networks of participants at multiple locations in North Carolina, as well as scores of animals. Today's sentence stands as a warning to those who participate in and fuel the market for this brutal conduct."