As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Monday 28 April 2014

Washington state euthanizes 300 cockfighting birds

Published time: April 23, 2014 15:22

After discovering a suspected cockfighting farm and arresting the man believed to be running the operation, Washington state officials euthanized hundreds of chickens found to be raised on steroids.

The raid occurred on Monday after law enforcement authorities obtained a warrant to search the compound in Rochester, Washington. One person was arrested – 35-year-old Victor Hugo Gallegos Chavez – and is believed to have been raising the chickens for cockfights held in Oregon, Texas, and Mexico.

While still legal in Mexico and other countries, cockfighting has been outlawed across the United States.

Speaking with Reuters, Thurston County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Wheeler said officials seized 240 roosters and 60 hens in the raid – but all 300 had to be euthanized after steroids were discovered in their system. The presence of the drug made them unsafe for humans to eat and “unsuitable for rehabilitation.”

In addition to the animals, the News Tribune is reporting that police also found small knives and slashers, which they suspect were attached to the chickens prior to fights. Coping saws were also found, and are typically used to cut a chicken’s natural spur off its leg in order to attach a knife.

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