Cockfighting - 74 roosters seized, 6 dead
Holland Landing, ON (CA)Incident Date: Saturday, Feb 14, 2009
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 3 files available
Alleged:
» Danilo Patawaran
» Deanna Patawaran
Crowded around a straw-bale-lined ring, the bettors roared as a pair of fighting cocks thrashed each other in a bloody battle to the death.
Inside the Quonset hut, the spectators leapt from white plastic deck chairs to cheer on the majestic fighting roosters, many with red, blue, orange and black feathers.
That was the scene uncovered during a weekend raid on a farm north of Newmarket where 70 people were arrested.
And it exposes a dirty secret of rural Ontario -- a clandestine subculture of illegal bloodsports like dogfighting and cockfighting.
"It's important for people to realize this may be happening in their backyard and to realize it is a serious crime involving unimaginable levels of cruelty," said Kristin Williams, a spokesperson for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Cockfighting is "far more common than people realize," Williams added.
On Saturday, an East Gwillimbury couple and 68 others were charged with a variety of animal cruelty and illegal betting offences after police and humane society officials raided a farm following a tip. Thousands of dollars in cash was also seized, police said.
"It's a heinous crime," York Region police Det. Sgt. Dieter Boeheim said yesterday. "We were quite disgusted by the sight. It was horrendous."
Six fighting roosters were found dead at the scene and a further 74 were seized and ordered destroyed by a Newmarket justice of the peace, as mandated under Canada's Criminal Code. A veterinarian euthanized the birds on Sunday.
Williams said the birds, which had been pumped up with steroids to make them better fighters, couldn't be eaten and were unsuitable as pets.
"These birds have been genetically selected for their aggressive qualities and then drugged to make them even more vicious," she said.
Boeheim said evidence at the scene led police to believe the cockfights had been scheduled as a weekend-long event.
"This is a real underground movement of people involved in these events, but I think we got the core group," Boeheim said. "We caught them red-handed in the act."
The gruesome event, held at a farm on Highway 48 near Mount Albert Rd., was "definitely not a one-off event," Boeheim said.
Inside the brown Quonset hut, there was even a catered buffet table set up near the six-metre-wide ring. Cages for the roosters were found on the grounds of the rented farm.
Fighting paraphernalia -- including spurs equipped with sharp hooks that are fitted on the birds' legs before the fight -- were also seized, police said.
"It was quite a sophisticated operation," Williams added.
As many as a dozen similar rings have been broken up across Ontario in the past decade, although none in recent memory in York Region, Williams said.
She said the last cockfighting bust was in Northumberland County in 2007, when 198 roosters were seized by OSPCA officials and Ontario Provincial Police officers.
Danilo Patawaran, 52, and Deanna Patawaran, 46, were each charged with injuring or endangering animals, causing unnecessary suffering, keeping a cockpit and keeping a betting house.
Police allege they organized the event.
They were released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Newmarket court March 18.
The other 68 people have been charged with causing unnecessary suffering and being found in a betting house.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for April 8. References
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