Suspected cockfighting ring on West Slope broken up
By Andrea Gallo, Sacramento Bee
About 75 game birds that appear to have been bred for cockfighting were discovered by El Dorado County Animal Services and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office at a Shingle Springs residence Tuesday.
Cockfighting is illegal throughout the country and California arrests can lead to jail time and fines up to $5,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for a second offense.
After a member of the public tipped them off about the possibility of a breeding ring, animal services and the sheriff’s officials obtained a search warrant and investigated the property, where they found game birds with signs of cockfighting activity. They removed all of them.
“Some of the birds could be saved,” said Henry Brzezinski, Chief of Animal Services, in a news release. “Unfortunately, some of the birds had to be humanely euthanized because their behavior was too aggressive for them to be rehabilitated.”