rinalia

Amidst all the Vick hoopla, another blood sport is getting the short end of the awareness stick - cockfighting.

In July, a major cockfighting ring was busted in Sacramento. Some 600 birds were discovered and 30-60 men, women and children were present at the fight. The facility served as a breeding operation and a fighting operation - most of the 600 birds were not owned by the property owner but some were. Unfortunately, the sheriff department neglected to keep an officer present 24 hours at the site. After one night of no one present...only 70 of the 600 fighting roosters remained. Also present were nearly a hundred hens and chicks.

Last week, we received a call about the hens (we were unaware the facility was also a breeding operation). A member of another animal-rights group contacted Sac County Animal Care & Regulation (AC&R) about confiscating the hens. The woman emailed several farmed animal sanctuaries and we (Animal Place) said yes. We coordinated a meetup with Sac County AC&R to go out to the property and start catching birds.

So yesterday, I spent my evening running around a dilapidated, ugly piece of crap property trying to net hens and chicks. It was an endeavor. We went at night, expecting calmer, perching birds. But the property was created by someone with a hacksaw, wood, nails and a poor sense of style. Navigation was tough, what with all the broken glass, splintered wood and beer bottles strewn about. We managed to get most of them, though and will try to get the rest tomorrow.

In Sac County, this is the fourth cockfighting bust this year. 

The shelter received custody of the birds today - all 70 of the fighting roosters were killed. I met the birds yesterday - they very people and rooster-aggressive birds. They were stunningly beautiful. It's tragic they have to die because of human cruelty.  Even some of the females are hard-core aggressive; we've euthanized one hen because she was severely wounded in a fight with another hen. Two more were injured. Most of the hens are not aggressive, though. 

Here's the rub about cockfighting in California: it's a misdemeanor. You can fight your rooster and the worst penalty you'll receive is not felony-level. It's legal to raise fighting roosters too.

I took pictures at the property. See the rest behind the cut.


These are the stereotypical rooster shacks. Individual birds are tethered with a short leather lead. They have a bucket or a plastic jug for water. This is their entire existence between fights.