More Than 70 Arrested During Cockfight Raid

by Sherry Morse

More than 70 individuals were recently arrested during a cockfight raid conducted by New York City police and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) humane law enforcement officers in a building in the Bronx that once was a church.

Eight people alleged to have been conducting cockfights were charged with animal fighting, which is a felony in New York State. Sixty-nine individuals believed to have been spectators were charged with misdemeanors.

Nineteen roosters and more than $17,000 in cash were seized during the raid. ASPCA humane law enforcement officer Joseph Pentangelo told an Associated Press reporter that the birds would be euthanized because "they’ve been conditioned (and) they’re really beyond rehabilitation."

Four of the alleged cockfighters had been taken into custody along with 133 other individuals during a similar raid conducted in January. Less than 24 hours after the more recent raid took place, two people were arrested and 125 birds were seized at a breeding and training facility run by cockfighters in the Bronx.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.