San Diego Raid is Largest Cockfighting Bust in U.S. History |
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October 19, 2007
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©The HSUS |
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The HSUS assisted in breaking up a massive cockfighitng operation in San Diego, California. |
By Chris Schindler
When authorities swooped down upon a San Diego, Calif., property on October 13, they found an animal fighting operation of staggering proportions: more than 5,000 fighting roosters, spread out over seven acres of land.
With this number of birds, the raid ranks as the largest cockfighting bust in U.S. history.
Along with thousands of fighting birds, officials discovered many hallmarks of the cockfighting trade: dirt fighting pits, bloody carpeting, and veterinary supplies and syringes consistent with cockfighting.
Warrants served at nine individual residences turned up similar items, including cockfighting magazines, video footage and razor-sharp knives which are strapped to the legs of fighting birds to increase the carnage.
Group Effort
Twenty trained HSUS staffers assisted the San Diego Animal Services, the San Diego Humane Society and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department in the raid.
San Diego County's Department of Animal Services' Lt. Dan DeSousa stated, "With a cockfighting operation of this size, the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services was extremely grateful for the expert assistance provided by the HSUS staff. They played an integral part in the smooth execution of the raid and in the processing of the over five thousand birds on the premises."
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| ©The HSUS |
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| This injured bird was rescued during the raid. |
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The Victims
The property in the Nestor neighborhood—where most of the birds were found—is believed to have been leased out in parcels to more than 100 individuals, each of whom kept his fighting birds caged just barely out of reach of neighboring fighting birds.
Many birds bore untreated wounds, and all showed intense frustration with their restrictive confines, from which they were freed only for battle.
Authorities believe that many birds from the San Diego properties were shipped to the Philippines for fighting, where the activity is also widespread, in clear violation of federal law.
Two-Time Losers
Shockingly, the raid wasn't the first for the Nestor property. Six years ago, the San Diego Humane Society served a similar warrant there, seizing more than 2,500 birds and arresting dozens of people. But partly because California's cockfighting law only carries misdemeanor penalties, the operation rebounded with staggering vigor, virtually doubling in size.
With so much public awareness of and disdain for the cruel world of illegal animal fighting, it is hard to fathom that an operation of this magnitude can still successfully operate anywhere in the U.S. But this bust shows how prevalent illegal animal fighting remains, and it should be a wake-up call to legislators to put some muscle in California's cockfighting law.
Chris Schindler is Deputy Manager of Animal Fighting Law Enforcement for The Humane Society of the United States.
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