Case Report

Authorites seized 123 birds from a suspected cockfighting guru at a house on the county\'s coast, sheriff\'s deputies raided a Redwood City home Sunday and found more roosters, along with paraphernalia related to cockfighting.

Mario Moreno, 52, is in jail on 20 counts of animal cruelty, 40 counts of owning fighting fowl and 120 counts of failure to provide care and shelter for the animals. Bail is set at $200,000.

In Moreno\'s house in Redwood City, officers found seven more birds -- one dead -- stuffed in two feed sacks. They also discovered various tools used for cockfighting, along with steroids used on the animals, said Sheriff\'s Office spokesperson Bronwyn Hogan.

The deputies found leg tethers, which are used to tie the birds together with little space in between \"so they taunt each other,\" Hogan said. \"It\'s like a method of torture.\" They also found long knives that the owners tie to birds\' legs. When they fight, they slash each other with the knives, Feazell said. Syringes were found along with the drugs.

All of the birds seized in this case were euthanized.

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