Cockfighting - three bags of birds found
New Scotland, NY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005
County: Albany
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Signs of illegal cockfighting have been discovered in Albany County. State wildlife pathologist Ward Stone began inspecting the dozens of roosters March 24, 2005. He says the birds appear to be victims of the illegal gambling operation.
Someone found them in New Scotland, but there's no telling where they came from.
Albany County Sheriff James Campbell says someone noticed three large bags of dead birds left near the side of a road. He says someone notified his office on March 22, 2005, then his office turned it over to the state department of Environmental Conservation.
Stone says the roosters' spurs have been cut off and were more than likely replaced with something else.
"They've been bred to fight. Instead of going after [the other bird] with the normal spur they now have a weapon on [on their legs] that can be razor sharp, that will cut holes in the other chicken," Stone explained.
They kinds of knives that could be used in cockfighting are can be seen on the Internet. When the knives are attached, it's a fight to the death.
Stone points out a few of these birds are headless – killed by humans. His guess is those birds were not successful in the ring.
Stone says he believes the birds were brought to him with the idea they would be incinerated, but first he wants to know whether there's any disease.
"We'll actually take samples here and send them to the United States Department of Agriculture to check for avian influenza, see what we've actually got here," he said.
Campbell says the birds were found near the Bethlehem water supply. There's no indication from EnCon the water was ever threatened. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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