More that 7,000 birds intended for use in bloody illegal cockfighting were seized near Santa Clarita, authorities announced Tuesday.
The law enforcement operation in the small rural town of Val Verde west of Santa Clarita began on Monday, and it resulted in “one of the largest seizures of flying fowl used for illegal cockfighting and (for) breeding for illegal cockfighting purposes,” sheriff’s Deputy Lillian Peck said.
Several people were detained, pending further investigation, but were not immediately arrested.
Cockfighting is a contest between two roosters fighting each other to death, and is illegal in every state, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Sharpened blades often are attached to the birds’ legs.
“Cockfighters, or rooster handlers, let those birds who suffer injuries during cockfighting to go untreated — or throw the birds away in the trash afterwards,” Peck said.
“Having the birds fight to death along with letting them to untreated is not only cruel, but oftentimes goes hand in hand with gambling, drug dealing, illegal gun sales, and murder,” she said.
—City News Service