1,000 Roosters Killed After Cockfighting Bust In California

VENTURA, Calif. — About 1,000 roosters confiscated during the weekend bust of a Ventura County cockfighting ring have been euthanized.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department says 16 men were arrested and cockfighting paraphernalia, including blades, were seized during the Saturday raid in an unincorporated area near Oxnard. A tip from an anonymous caller led to the bust.

Investigators say about 1,000 roosters had to be euthanized because of their aggressive nature.

The Ventura County Star says 43-year-old Michael Lim of Los Angeles and 29-year-old Luis Manzana of Oxnard were booked for investigation of felony animal cruelty. The other 14 men were booked for misdemeanors for being spectators at a cockfight.

Comments

[jennytaylia]

04:12 PM on 02/04/2011

This is incredibly disturbing, but the fact of the matter is that these birds are treated cruelly so they will fight viciously in the cockfighting arenas. Most likely, there would be no way to rehabilitate them enough to live a normal chicken's life on a farm. Don't blame the people who humanely euthanized these poor creatures; blame the monsters who operate and attend cockfights.

[james duhon]

12:51 PM on 02/05/2011

Jenny let's see if you know what your talking about. How are these birds treated cruelly so they will fight viciously in the cockfighti­ng arenas. Tell me what do these chicken fighter do that is
so cruell to get these chicken to fight. Please enlighten me with you knowledge.

[saveourplanet]

02:16 PM on 02/04/2011

When I read this headline the first thing I thought of was the episode of Seinfeld when Kramer raises "Little Jerry" a rooster.

My grandfather used to have a rooster as his pet. Someone asked him if he would take the rooster after the rooster grew too big after being given to a child as an Easter gift.
We used to feed him dried corn and he ruled the yard.
He was a little aggressive but not any more than a protective dog.
He was one smart rooster that's for sure!

[Ginger E Fidel]

08:16 PM on 02/03/2011

So is it then humane to euthanize these animals because they are what they are? More PETA crapolla....

[LeeCalif]

10:19 AM on 02/04/2011

Ginger , try reading more carefully. PETA was not involved here.

[Ginger E Fidel]

06:00 PM on 02/08/2011

Thanks for that Lee. PETA may not have been involved in this one, but others and it always ends with killing. Why?

[vagabond78666]

03:48 PM on 02/03/2011

Roosters are naturally aggressive. They are little highlanders. In the yard there can be only one. Are dogs confiscated during dog fights raids euthanized ? No. I fear more from a pit bull that has been raised to kill over a thousand roosters anyday.

[james duhon]

02:40 PM on 02/03/2011

I love all the animal rights people. The ones I love the most are the ones sitting around the table eating chicken, steak, and those baby back ribs baby. How dare those rooster fighters throw those dead chickens in the garbage. The next time I have chicken I'm going take the bones outside and bury them. That might make me more human than those terrible chicken fighters.

[rjmtx]

02:15 PM on 02/03/2011

What a waste of life. First off, fighting roosters to the death is no good. Secondly, even roosters of much quieter and less aggressive breeds than gamecocks are tough to find homes for. Most people with a flock will only have one or two, if any. Third, I'm curious what happened to all of the killed birds. Their meat and feathers should not have ended up in a dump somewhere. I can think of many uses for a dead chicken that would at least make life better for something that is still living.

[zumajim]

12:18 PM on 02/03/2011

Let's hear it for my old hometown, Ventura, CA. Nice to see it's lost none of its rural charm. All kidding aside, this is a horrible story about horrible people and their unimaginable cruelty to helpless animals. We tend to equate cockfighting with third-world countries, but abject cruelty knows no borders.

[mgayte]

12:01 PM on 02/03/2011

Once again, the animals are punished for their owners' crimes.

[mad catter]

10:32 AM on 02/03/2011

How very sad to read an article once again about animals being put to death for no good reason. I'm sorry but aggressive is not a good excuse. That's what they said about evil Michael Vick's dogs and they're living a happy life (those who were spared) with people who love them. I guarantee you could have found a group like Best Friends, or Farm Sanctuary or Animal Acres to help these roosters. Shame on the killers who feel an animal is less than a human.

[veggieone]

10:08 AM on 02/03/2011

Here in Georgia I have driven next to large chicken hauling trucks. It is so horrible to see all those chickens, packed tight in crates, going off to be killed. It is the first time any of them have even been in the light of day and their fear is obvious. No matter how insignificant an animal's life is, in our society, it still is painful for me to see it suffer. I doubt that even a handful of people feel the same as I do. People a harden to these sights.

[Vegan Girl]

10:45 AM on 02/03/2011

I think most people have empathy for the pain and fear of other creatures. This is why the food industry hides its atrocities so thoroughly out of sight. And our culture teaches us to ignore those feelings.... Some people are hardened, but I think they are the minority. They would be the people patronizing or profiting from an establishment like the one in the article....

[rjmtx]

02:11 PM on 02/03/2011

Our culture is very detached from death (human and otherwise) as well as where our food comes from. I'm not at all against eating meat (and enjoy it myself), but people should be aware that their supper was once a living animal and consider the sort of life it lived before ending up on a plate.

People just like to live in denial, it's so much easier and less conflicted. Some of my favorite animals I've ever raised were chickens, but I also know that the best tasting ones come from the backyard, too. This is a fact that I am very comfortable with.

I also work for the conservation of fishes, but enjoy catching and eating them on a regular basis. So it goes... And yes, I sleep very well at night.

[Meesterclean]

09:15 AM on 02/03/2011

I thought the law was meant to protect the birds.

[observingstupiditydaily]

08:54 AM on 02/03/2011

I get the funny "hot wings" jokes, but cockfighting has a more insidious background:

"In a cockfight, two roosters fight each other to the death while people place bets. Cockfighters let the birds suffer untreated injuries or throw the birds away like trash afterwards. Besides being cruel, cockfighting often goes hand in hand with gambling, drug dealing, illegal gun sales and murder."

[facepalm12]

09:14 AM on 02/03/2011

"...and worst of all... Mexcans..."

Truly the most _insidious element of _cockfighting.

[IMOPINIONH8D]

04:57 AM on 02/04/2011

Whats your problem with Mexicans, klansman??????

[IMOPINIONH8D]

04:56 AM on 02/04/2011

Sounds like any sport in America. Go into any crowd at any sport and you'll find the same thing.

[Vegan Girl]

08:09 AM on 02/03/2011

This is just speculation on my part but I think that cruelty to animals requires the same emotional background as cruelty to humans. For this reason alone, we must take animal cruelty very seriously.

[sigh-ence]

08:28 AM on 02/03/2011

Yes indeed! I'm glad I'm already a fan of yours.

[seachange525]

09:57 AM on 02/03/2011

I've fanned both of you! Thank you so much. I also believe we need to stop thinking of animals as 'lesser' forms of life than humans.

[veggieone]

11:10 AM on 02/03/2011

You are so right.
I'm already a friend but will fan you.
Cruelty is cruelty, if a person is consistently apathetic about cruelty towards humans or animals they are lacking the quality of being humane. Even the way most choose to eat causes a great desensitizing to the suffering of the animals eaten and that suffering is considerable, from birth to slaughter!

[He Bre]

07:58 AM on 02/03/2011

"an unincorporated area near Oxnard" = PLEASE can someone explain what happened in America.....? what is an unincorporared area EXACTLY ?

[mudshark12]

01:13 AM on 02/04/2011

It's an area that has poorly paved streets and don't have streetlights because Oxnard hasn't bothered to make it part of their city. I know of one such place at the end of Indiana St. (off Gonzales Ave and behind Wall Mart) on the north side of town. El Rio may be another one of these unincorporated areas. Oxnard is slowly catching up on things and certain streets in the city are in poor condition as they don't maintain them too well.

[thesadtruthliveson]

07:51 AM on 02/03/2011

Cock hahahaha