The report also has been turned over to the Oakland police Beat Health Unit because of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the property. Stinky stuff.
OAKLAND -- Police following up on a burglar alarm in West Oakland discovered cages full of roosters and chickens bred for what could be a professional cockfighting operation hidden within a nondescript home near BART.
Sgt. Rodney Grimes said the birds were found Saturday morning at a home in the 300 block of Center Street. They found pens holding more than 50 roosters and hens and young birds inside a shed in the rear yard. But the real shocker was what they saw -- or didn't see -- inside the house, Grimes said.
The small, yellow Victorian looks nice from the street, with blooming rose bushes in front and lace curtains covering some windows. But the inside was gutted -- no sheet rock, no bathroom, no kitchen, just a big empty shell filled with bird droppings, Grimes said.
And underneath the main floor, police found a big fighting ring, leashes to keep the roosters from attacking each other, boxes to transport the birds, steroids to make the birds bigger and meaner, and lots of other fighting paraphernalia, Grimes said.
"It was (one of) the nicest looking houses on the block," Grimes said. "My mother had roses and this house had nice beautiful rose bushes in front of it. ... Nothing on the outside makes you suspect they were fighting chickens in there."
Although cockfighting has a long history in some areas of the world, many societies have come to view it as cruel and inhumane. Often, the roosters are injected with drugs to make them mean and aggressive, and their spur claw is removed and replaced with razor blades. The birds are flung into a ring to peck and claw each other until one is killed or close to death.
The "sport" is illegal in California and all states except two, but its popularity frequently breeds an illicit underground network involving gambling. The house's neighborhood is wedged between the West Oakland BART station and Interstate 880.
Police first noticed the birds days earlier, when responding to a burglar alarm at a neighboring residence. They notified animal control, which went to the house with police Saturday.
Grimes said no one was home when police arrived, but at some point a young man who identified himself as the nephew of the owner showed up. He said he only went there to care for the birds, and was not arrested.
About 25 roosters were taken to the Oakland animal shelter. A couple dozen hens and younger birds were left behind because there was no room for them at the shelter, Grimes said.
As far as he knows, there were no complaints from neighbors about the birds or anything else, Grimes said.
There is a large, black-topped lot on one side of the house where several workers from nearby industrial businesses played soccer during a break. A neighbor across the street said he never heard any cockfights, and the family who lives right next door said the same thing.
"The police took the chickens away, I guess they thought they were fighting in the back yard," said Cindy Garcia, 16. "These guys were cleaning them and feeding them. We're here every day and we never see anything like that."
Garcia and her parents said the birds were not a nuisance, and they had gotten used to the crowing. The men who came and went never offered them any eggs; the eggs were hatched and the chicks grew up, Garcia said.
Elidia Garcia, Cindy's mom, said her home was robbed on Mother's Day and many pieces of her jewelry stolen. She said she knows who did it, but she said police seem more worried about the chickens next door than helping her recover her property.
"The chickens were not a problem," she said. "But the police think the chickens are more important than (arresting) the person who stole my jewelry."
Animal control officials said they get more complaints about noisy roosters crowing than calls about cockfights.
The fighting birds cannot be adopted because they are too aggressive and will attack other birds, officials said. In this case, the birds will be examined by a veterinarian, and a supervisor will decide whether to keep them as evidence or euthanize them.
The report also has been turned over to the Oakland police Beat Health Unit because of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the property.
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1403070,00.html
OAKLAND -- Police following up on a burglar alarm in West Oakland discovered cages full of roosters and chickens bred for what could be a professional cockfighting operation hidden within a nondescript home near BART.
Sgt. Rodney Grimes said the birds were found Saturday morning at a home in the 300 block of Center Street. They found pens holding more than 50 roosters and hens and young birds inside a shed in the rear yard. But the real shocker was what they saw -- or didn't see -- inside the house, Grimes said.
The small, yellow Victorian looks nice from the street, with blooming rose bushes in front and lace curtains covering some windows. But the inside was gutted -- no sheet rock, no bathroom, no kitchen, just a big empty shell filled with bird droppings, Grimes said.
And underneath the main floor, police found a big fighting ring, leashes to keep the roosters from attacking each other, boxes to transport the birds, steroids to make the birds bigger and meaner, and lots of other fighting paraphernalia, Grimes said.
"It was (one of) the nicest looking houses on the block," Grimes said. "My mother had roses and this house had nice beautiful rose bushes in front of it. ... Nothing on the outside makes you suspect they were fighting chickens in there."
Although cockfighting has a long history in some areas of the world, many societies have come to view it as cruel and inhumane. Often, the roosters are injected with drugs to make them mean and aggressive, and their spur claw is removed and replaced with razor blades. The birds are flung into a ring to peck and claw each other until one is killed or close to death.
The "sport" is illegal in California and all states except two, but its popularity frequently breeds an illicit underground network involving gambling. The house's neighborhood is wedged between the West Oakland BART station and Interstate 880.
Police first noticed the birds days earlier, when responding to a burglar alarm at a neighboring residence. They notified animal control, which went to the house with police Saturday.
Grimes said no one was home when police arrived, but at some point a young man who identified himself as the nephew of the owner showed up. He said he only went there to care for the birds, and was not arrested.
About 25 roosters were taken to the Oakland animal shelter. A couple dozen hens and younger birds were left behind because there was no room for them at the shelter, Grimes said.
As far as he knows, there were no complaints from neighbors about the birds or anything else, Grimes said.
There is a large, black-topped lot on one side of the house where several workers from nearby industrial businesses played soccer during a break. A neighbor across the street said he never heard any cockfights, and the family who lives right next door said the same thing.
"The police took the chickens away, I guess they thought they were fighting in the back yard," said Cindy Garcia, 16. "These guys were cleaning them and feeding them. We're here every day and we never see anything like that."
Garcia and her parents said the birds were not a nuisance, and they had gotten used to the crowing. The men who came and went never offered them any eggs; the eggs were hatched and the chicks grew up, Garcia said.
Elidia Garcia, Cindy's mom, said her home was robbed on Mother's Day and many pieces of her jewelry stolen. She said she knows who did it, but she said police seem more worried about the chickens next door than helping her recover her property.
"The chickens were not a problem," she said. "But the police think the chickens are more important than (arresting) the person who stole my jewelry."
Animal control officials said they get more complaints about noisy roosters crowing than calls about cockfights.
The fighting birds cannot be adopted because they are too aggressive and will attack other birds, officials said. In this case, the birds will be examined by a veterinarian, and a supervisor will decide whether to keep them as evidence or euthanize them.
The report also has been turned over to the Oakland police Beat Health Unit because of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the property.
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1403070,00.html
