Cockfighting - approximately 170 birds seized
West Palm Beach, FL (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007
County: Palm Beach
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Domingo Antonio Rodriguez
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control has broken up a sophisticated cockfighting training lab in a residential neighborhood in The Acreage.
Domingo Antonio Rodriguez, 30, of the 12000 block of 54th Street, was arrested by sheriff's deputies on April 10 afternoon and charged with animal fighting. He is free after posting $3,000 bond.
When Animal Control and deputies raided Rodriguez's home they found close to 90 roosters caged in the backyard and another 80 caged in the garage, according to police reports. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, several roosters already had been readied for fighting -- the gamecock "combs" atop their head, wattles below their beaks and around their ears had been removed.
Other roosters had feathers removed, according to reports.
Deputies found numerous vitamins, which are known to decrease lactic acid in the roosters' muscles to relieve fatigue and increase stamina. Also found were items including a plastic bag labeled "5 cock conditiong kit," which contained several liquid hormones and pills.
Rodriguez told officers he planned on taking the birds to Louisiana, where cockfighting is still legal.
Case UpdatesInvestigators had been tracking Domingo Antonio Rodriguez Jr., 30, ever since his arrest at a cockfighting event in June. Charges were never filed in that case, but the incident put The Acreage resident on Animal Care & Control's radar, Capt. Gina DiPace said.
Rodriguez's home, decorated with paintings of roosters wearing metal spurs engaged in battle, had as many as 170 roosters caged in the garage and in the backyard. Some had been prepared for fighting. Their fleshy "combs" across the tops of their heads, their wattles below the beak and earlobes had been removed. Some also had bulky feathers removed.
"A lot of birds were set to be shipped out," DiPace said. "And many others were getting ready to be."
Inside, investigators found a refrigerator chilling several containers of vitamins and other supplements. According to police records, they found vitamins B-12 and B-15, which help decrease lactic acid buildup in muscles, which experts say relieves fatigue and increases stamina. They found bottles of liquid hormones "Tylosin" and "Penicillin," which are known to increase muscle mass and make animals more aggressive.
Other assorted vitamins and hormones were neatly packed in plastic bags labeled "5 cock conditioning kit." Some of the pills were not marked, but other bottles were titled "The Coach's Edge" and "Air Power," the labels of which included instructions for use several hours before fighting.
Beside the cages in the garage were other fighting paraphernalia, including a gym bag that contained two stuffed animal roosters for teasing the gamecocks into fighting; a stopwatch that investigators say was used for timing sparring matches during training; padded muffs that were to be worn around a rooster's natural spur to prevent injury while sparring; and tapes, threads, clippers, files and scissors to attach razor-sharp artificial spurs to the legs before competition.
Additional items found throughout the home included five artificial spurs; a bag containing wax sticks, lighters, glue and clippers for attaching the spurs; and cords to tie the roosters' legs to a secured stand, which experts say is commonly used in training.
According to the police report, Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, told authorities that he bred, trained and sold the birds for competition in his home country and also in Louisiana, the only state where cockfighting is legal.
DiPace said that after an arrest, captured adult roosters bred for fighting are typically euthanized because they are too aggressive to be placed with other birds.
"At that point, euthanasia is the most humane thing we can do for them," she said. | Source: Sun-Sentinel - April 12, 2007
Update posted on Apr 12, 2007 - 10:48AM |
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