Cockfight (KTLA) |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- In some cultures it's celebrated, but in ours, it's illegal and law enforcement is looking to put a stop to it.
We're talking about the bloodsport of cockfighting. It takes place in hidden back yards all over Southern California, in a makeshift pit where two roosters fight to the death, with these razor-sharp slashers strapped to their legs.
Around the bloodied birds, spectators gamble for big moneyÂ… and sadly, they turn a blind eye to the cruel, inhumane animal abuse at the heart of the sport:
As if to underscore the dangers and cruelty of the sport, earlier this month a man up in Central California's Tulare County died at a cockfight, after his calf was sliced by a rooster wearing one of these razor-sharp 'slashers'Â… and doctors were unable to stop the bleeding.
A freak accidentÂ… but more common - and tragic - are the hundreds, perhaps thousands of roosters killed every year in this barbaric, illegal sport.
And the illegal bloodsport of cockfighting continues to flourish, in secret backyard pits around Southern California. LAPD Raid video - acquired exclusively by KTLA news - reveals a bloodied bird battlefieldÂ… built by the lure of big bucks.
LAPD Officer Ramon Muniz says "there's a tremendous amount of money - betting involved - that's main crux of it, betting - there's huge money in it. A good fighting bird can go for thousands of dollars, the money that people bet - the people hosting it get a kickback, if your bird wins you get money, a lot of money involved, that's the main motivation."
The cockfighting problem in California is undeniably statewide. Sheriff's video from Fresno County shows the aftermath of a raid, revealing boxed fighting birdsÂ…fighting implementsÂ… and a bloody battlefield of dead birdsÂ…
Officer Ramon Muniz of the LAPD's Animal Cruelty Task Force showed us the deadly tools of the cockfighters' trade. And Muniz says their regular cockfighting raids yield other ugly surprises, "At cockfights you're going to have going to have guns. You're going to have narcotics, gang members, gambling, large amounts of money, so you have all these other things."
In the Philippines and Mexico, cockfighting is a legal, celebrated part of the culture. But sometimes that influence is passed across generations here in California. "families will actually get their children involved - had one case - forwarded to dcfs, where father was training birds for cockfighting - had his kid 7 years old assisting in putting the implements on the birds, helping with the fighting - so you can imagine what that does to a kid's psycheÂ…"
And of course for Officer Muniz and the LAPD, even years of cultural history does not justify the cruel, inhumane pastime of cockfighting. It's animal abuse, plain and simple. "just let it be known that our unit devotes most of our time to animal bloodsport - cockfighting and dogfightingÂ… so eventually you're gonna get caught."
We're talking about the bloodsport of cockfighting. It takes place in hidden back yards all over Southern California, in a makeshift pit where two roosters fight to the death, with these razor-sharp slashers strapped to their legs.
Around the bloodied birds, spectators gamble for big moneyÂ… and sadly, they turn a blind eye to the cruel, inhumane animal abuse at the heart of the sport:
As if to underscore the dangers and cruelty of the sport, earlier this month a man up in Central California's Tulare County died at a cockfight, after his calf was sliced by a rooster wearing one of these razor-sharp 'slashers'Â… and doctors were unable to stop the bleeding.
A freak accidentÂ… but more common - and tragic - are the hundreds, perhaps thousands of roosters killed every year in this barbaric, illegal sport.
And the illegal bloodsport of cockfighting continues to flourish, in secret backyard pits around Southern California. LAPD Raid video - acquired exclusively by KTLA news - reveals a bloodied bird battlefieldÂ… built by the lure of big bucks.
LAPD Officer Ramon Muniz says "there's a tremendous amount of money - betting involved - that's main crux of it, betting - there's huge money in it. A good fighting bird can go for thousands of dollars, the money that people bet - the people hosting it get a kickback, if your bird wins you get money, a lot of money involved, that's the main motivation."
The cockfighting problem in California is undeniably statewide. Sheriff's video from Fresno County shows the aftermath of a raid, revealing boxed fighting birdsÂ…fighting implementsÂ… and a bloody battlefield of dead birdsÂ…
Officer Ramon Muniz of the LAPD's Animal Cruelty Task Force showed us the deadly tools of the cockfighters' trade. And Muniz says their regular cockfighting raids yield other ugly surprises, "At cockfights you're going to have going to have guns. You're going to have narcotics, gang members, gambling, large amounts of money, so you have all these other things."
In the Philippines and Mexico, cockfighting is a legal, celebrated part of the culture. But sometimes that influence is passed across generations here in California. "families will actually get their children involved - had one case - forwarded to dcfs, where father was training birds for cockfighting - had his kid 7 years old assisting in putting the implements on the birds, helping with the fighting - so you can imagine what that does to a kid's psycheÂ…"
And of course for Officer Muniz and the LAPD, even years of cultural history does not justify the cruel, inhumane pastime of cockfighting. It's animal abuse, plain and simple. "just let it be known that our unit devotes most of our time to animal bloodsport - cockfighting and dogfightingÂ… so eventually you're gonna get caught."
