L.A. County to study limits on rooster ownership to combat cockfighting

When Los Angeles County officials raided a property in rural Val Verde in May, they came upon an extraordinary sight — nearly 8,000 roosters who were raised and primed to battle to the death.

Officials described the episode as the largest seizure of fighting cocks in U.S. history, and they say their investigation remains active.

Although cockfighting is already prosecutable under several laws, Los Angeles County supervisors directed staff this week to evaluate a plan that would limit the number of roosters allowed on a property.

“This is animal cruelty,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Val Verde area. “The razors they put on their feet — if that’s a sport, then God help us all. It’s appalling. And this also attracts a pretty unsavory element as it relates to gambling and drugs and, in some cases, prostitution.”

In addition to those concerns, authorities say the practice poses a major public health risk. Diseases can spread to legal flocks and even skip across species to humans.

“Some places we’ve been to are in the middle of tract homes and have several hundred birds in backyards,” said Lt. John Lecrivain, who supervises the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department team that is handling the Val Verde investigation.

Lecrivain thinks the proposal could help. He wouldn’t expect officers to begin sweeps through homes. There’s only enough manpower to respond to complaints, but the complaints do come.

“One rooster is pretty loud,” he said. “Put 100 in a backyard, it’s pretty deafening.”

The Val Verde property was located in a canyon out of sight from the road — an ideal place to store and breed fighting roosters. The property had been the site of an earlier bust that yielded 2,700 roosters. One element of the investigation has been to look at the role of the property owner and find the bigger players in the racket.

The proposed ordinance is aimed at smaller groups of fighting roosters. The Val Verde investigation, for example, led to a property in more urban Pacoima where roosters were being kept, said Raul Rodriguez, an animal control manager with L.A. County.

Those studying the proposal will also consider the interests of people who own roosters and chickens to keep as pets or for the production of fresh eggs, officials say.

An ordinance would have to balance competing, legitimate interests, said Tony Bell, a spokesman for Barger. And different rules might be needed for large parcels in rural areas compared to urban neighborhoods or industrial chicken farms, he said.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume