Thread: Drug Bust Leads To Uncovering Of Cockfighting Ring

Drug Bust Leads To Uncovering Of Cockfighting Ring

Investigators in Caldwell County found 400 roosters in cages, dogs, monkeys and macaws when they arrested a man on drug charges.

They say he was also operating one of the biggest cockfighting rings they'd ever seen in Caldwell County.

On the property off of Highway 80, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Department found 400 roosters in individual cages and tethered to the ground. All of them are aggressive. All of them bred to fight to the death.

"Four hundred and fifty to 500 fighting roosters of different breeds size. Some of them have been given chemicals to make them more aggressive and for lack of a better term better fighters," Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law said.

Each rooster was in an individual cage, numbered for aggressiveness.

What's interesting is investigators were actually looking into the owner of this property, Noe Perez, for three years. They were investigating him for drug charges. When they came here to arrest him, they found a huge cockfighting operation. Officials say that it would bring in thousands of dollars every Sunday and break several laws.

"Anywhere from 30 to 60 people would show up at these events, and they would be charged to watch the fights as well as bet on the birds," Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel Law said.

Hundreds of roosters were tethered to the ground waiting to make their way to the arena, where they would fight to the death.

Inside the ring, the roosters would wear spurs to fight spraying blood and ripping gashes through each other's bodies.

"They end up in a ring like this, and they end up either a winner or loser in the battle. If they win, they go on to fight again. If they lose, that means they're dead," said Heidi Brasher with Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.

The SPCA rescues roosters from these types of operations all too often, but they rarely encounter any this big and this organized.

"There's a concession stand over here. There's a breeding area. There's areas where they prep the birds for the fights," Brasher said.

Perez is in jail Wednesday. He is facing drug charges for cocaine and marijuana. But, he's also now going to be facing charges of animal cruelty and illegal gambling.

The roosters were picked up by animal rescue from Houston. They'll be euthanized.

The exotic animals found on the property will most likely be put in sanctuaries.

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5687486&nav=0s3d

This, like soccer, is a national sport of Mexico.