20 Cited at Fillmore Cockfight
Twenty people were cited and nearly five dozen roosters seized during a weekend raid of a cockfighting operation in a Fillmore orchard.
Authorities said Monday that another dozen people will be cited this week. Cockfighting is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or fines of up to $1,000.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was tipped about a cockfight near Balcom Canyon and South Mountain roads, Senior Deputy Don Jennings said. Deputies arrived about 10 p.m. Sunday to find 59 roosters--including five injured and three dead. Dozens of people fled the scene.
Deputies found a 20-foot wooden arena, scales to weigh the roosters and knives. In a cockfight, two roosters, with razors or knives attached to their legs, fight to the death.
Because of their aggressive nature, the confiscated roosters will be destroyed.
“It’s impossible to place animals like that into a home with other animals because they are trained to fight,” said Tim Dewar of the Ventura County Humane Society.
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