Cockfighting Crackdown: Largest in NY History

Thousands of chickens were rescued and numerous suspects were taken into custody after authorities brought down a major New York cockfighting ring.


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Last weekend, federal and state authorities undertook “Operation Angry Birds”—the largest cockfighting ring bust in New York’s history. Starting on Saturday evening, police raided a cockfight in Queens, where attendees wagered thousands of dollars while razor-clad birds who were administered performance enhancing drugs, fought to the death. Several people who owned the birds and forced them into combat were charged with animal cruelty. The police also raided a pet shop in Brooklyn, where they found cockfighting equipment like spurs, tape, and dummy roosters, along with 30 birds whose bodies were altered for fighting conditions, having wattles removed from their heads and feathers plucked from their chests, reports The New York Daily News. Finally, a 90-acre farm in upstate New York was raided, and a rescue effort by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals discovered approximately 3,000 birds who were used for fighting.

Photo credit: NBC