2 Men Are Shot at Ranch Cock Fight : Gambling: A betting dispute erupts at the event attended by about 100 people outside Lancaster. Officials confiscate two dozen birds.

Two men were shot and wounded at a cock fight at an Antelope Valley ranch where authorities subsequently confiscated two dozen of the fighting birds, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy said Thursday.

A dispute over a bet erupted about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the ranch in the 6300 block of East Avenue E, Deputy Jody Sharp said. More than 100 spectators attended the fight at a ranch, located about five miles northwest of Lancaster.

Benjamin Valencia, 23, suffered a gunshot wound to the back and crashed his car as he tried to drive himself to the hospital, Sharp said. CHP officers discovered Valencia at the crash scene and took him to Lancaster Community Hospital where he was treated and released.

Miguel Fonceca, 33, fled the ranch on foot and was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest at High Desert Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Thursday, Sharp said. No arrests have been made in connection with the shootings.

Two dozen fighting birds discovered at the ranch were taken to an animal shelter in Lancaster and were due to be taken to another shelter, said Sgt. Alex Flores, of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. About 100 more untrained roosters were discovered at the ranch, but were not confiscated.

Jaime Meraz, manager of the department’s Downey office, said that cock fighting is on the rise throughout the county and that spectators bet thousands of dollars on the matches.

“You would be surprised. They’re all over the place,” Meraz said. “It seems like it’s increasing.”

Meraz said that while it is legal to own the birds, it is a violation of the law to fight them. Birds used in cock fights are a special breed of roosters known as “Gallo de Pelea” that come from Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands and Cuba.

Small sharp blades are attached to the birds’ legs so that when a bird kicks up its legs during a fight, they slash the other bird, Meraz said. The fights are often fatal for one of the roosters, but sometimes they are stopped short of death so that the birds can be used for breeding.