Roosters found in cockfighting operation near Salton Sea; 30 people cited

Suspected cockfighting ring busted from Riverside County Animal Services:

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers busted a cockfighting operation in the North Shore area near the Salton Sea Sunday.

Authorities found 40 cockfighting roosters at the property in the 100,000 block of Avenue 72 in an incorporated area of Riverside County close to the Imperial County border.

Three roosters had already been involved in early battles. Animal control officers with Riverside County Animal Services retrieved the bloody birds near a cockfighting ring.

The officers had to euthanize 37 other roosters. Animal Services does not adopt cockfighting roosters. The birds would end up back in illegal cockfighting rings, said Deputy Director Frank Corvino, who oversees Animal Services’ field operations division.

Deputies and officers cited about 30 people for attending a cockfight, a misdemeanor. Usually when Animal Services officers bust such operations, every participant scatters. However, the Sheriff’s Department’s presence was so well coordinated that not many people could escape the citation, said Sgt. James Huffman of Animal Services.

“The Sheriff’s Department even had deputies on off-road, quad vehicles to catch the runners that tried to escape into the desert,” Sgt. Huffman said. “We appreciated that level of enforcement. It sends a message to those that attend these illegal fights that we’re taking them very seriously.”

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