California Cops Get Tough on Cockfighters

	©The HSUS
	Cockfighting may be occurring in your community if you see tethered gamecocks with trimmed combs.

Up and down the California coast, sheriffs, police departments and animal control units are making sure the Golden State is inhospitable to cockfighters.

In less than one month, the media reported no fewer than nine cockfighting busts across the state.

November 11, 2007: Sacramento sheriff's deputies arrested approximately a dozen people and seized 17 gamefowl and cockfighting implements at a home suspected of hosting cockfights, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

November 17, 2007: Hayward police broke up a cockfight in progress at a Hayward residence, arresting seven people and seizing 67 birds. The Argus reported that they also recovered a half-dozen dead birds, cockfighting weapons and steroids.

November 24, 2007: Officers from the LAPD, acting on a tip, interrupted a cockfight in progress at a Pacoima home. They arrested seven people, including a juvenile, and recovered five live and three dead fighting birds, according to an Associated Content report and an LAPD press release.

November 25, 2007: Monterey County sheriff's deputies seized more than 60 fighting roosters, arrested two people and detained 20 others after a tip led them to a cockfight under way at a San Lucas home, according to The Californian.

November 25, 2007:  Gardena Police detained 30 people and seized a hundred birds during a cockfighting raid. The Daily Breeze reported that dozens of other participants escaped on foot, and paperwork indicated that $40,000 was in the gambling pot.

November 29, 2007: Officers from the Los Angeles City Animal Cruelty Task Force arrested one man and seized 46 game fowl. Neighbors complaining about the roosters' constant crowing tipped off the task force, according to an LAPD press release.

November 30, 2007: Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies busted a cockfight at a Morgan Hill home, revealing 16 live and two dead fighting birds. Sgt. Don Morrisey told the Morgan Hill Times, "We are always actively seeking this type of activity, due to the inhumane nature of the crime. It's a crime against society."

December 1, 2007: Riverside County sheriff's deputies arrested a person suspected of running an illegal cockfighting operation at a Glen Avon house. They found 121 gamecocks and numerous cockfighting implements on the site, reported the Press-Enterprise.

December 1, 2007:  Ventura County sheriff's deputies arrested seven men after uncovering a suspected cockfighting operation. In addition to nearly a thousand fighting birds, authorities found a cockfighting pit, cockfighting knives and steroids, according to the Ventura County Star.

Setting the Stage in California

©The HSUS
Eric Sackach has helped with more than 100 animal fighting raids.

All of these raids came on the heels of the largest cockfighting raid in U.S. history, in which The HSUS joined with San Diego County Animal Control and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department in October 2007. The current spate of law enforcement activity against California cockfighting operations has its roots in the ongoing work of The HSUS's West Coast Regional Office.

For the past 30 years, The HSUS's WCRO director Eric Sakach has led the charge against illegal animal fighters on multiple levels: lobbying for stronger laws, conducting law enforcement training sessions up and down the state, and planning and participating in more than 100 animal fighting raids.

Taken together, this multi-pronged approach helped precipitate the current zero-tolerance mentality against animal fighting among law enforcement agencies in California.

By educating officers on the signs and implications of animal fighting and developing strong relationships with law enforcement agencies across the state, Sakach and The HSUS laid the groundwork essential to stunting this cruel underground industry.

As the only national animal protection organization with a team of staff dedicated to stopping animal fighting, The HSUS will continue to target animal fighting in California and beyond until the animal-fighting fires are extinguished for good.

Ariana Huemer is cruelty case manager for The Humane Society of the United States. 

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