A Los Angeles County man who sold and shipped barbed hooks, razor-sharp blades and “rooster vitamins” for use in cockfighting was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and fined $3,000.
Omar Olmos Salazar pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court in June 2019 to a charge of selling and transporting sharp instruments for use in an animal fighting venture, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Mitchell.
Salazar advertised his mail-order cockfighting paraphernalia business on Instagram, where it came to the attention of a postal inspector, according to a sealed plea agreement read into the court record by a defense attorney during the plea hearing.
Along with gaffs, knives, mounting blocks, puppets and other items, Salazar sold antibiotics and vitamin supplements for use in the illegal blood sport, in which onlookers place bets on gamecocks that battle until one dies.
In January 2018, an undercover agent responded to Salazar’s ad, purchased $325 worth of cockfighting items and had them shipped to a post office box in Las Vegas, according to a defense lawyer.
A cock fight generally lasts from a few minutes to about a half-hour. Although not all bouts are fatal, major trauma is common. The secretive activity has been banned in California for decades.