270 Chickens Seized During Cockfighting Investigation Euthanized
ODENTON, Md. (WJZ) -- A sad turn for hundreds of chickens and roosters confiscated by Anne Arundel County police as part of an investigation into illegal cockfighting.
Derek Valcourt explains what's happened to the birds and why.
Rescuers were hoping to find the birds new, happy homes. Sadly, all of them had to be euthanized.
In all, 270 roosters and hens were found alive on the Odenton property in early June--many tethered to leashes or found in cages. Some were just days old.
Police were led there by a tip that Ethan Harmon was breeding the birds to sell for use in illegal cockfights.
As seen in under cover video, that's when two roosters fight to the death as spectators gamble on the winner.
Now, one month later, the Maryland Department of Agriculture orders all 270 of those birds destroyed after testing found all had two serious viruses and bacterial infections.
"Essentially, every one of those is highly infectious and contagious," said Falls Road Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Danielle Anthony.
Dr. Anthony specializes in birds and agrees destroying the entire flock is the best way to contain these incurable viruses.
"They can be carried on clothing in some cases, into from one farm to the next farm and basically just spread like wildfire across the state," she said.
Harmon wasn't hiding the fact that he was breeding roosters for illegal sport at an Odenton property. In fact, WJZ found he was bragging about it online.
His Facebook photos show Harmon posing with some of his winnings from cockfighting. He advocated for its legalization and advertised fighting roosters for sale.
"If people would have seen the mess that was out there, they would certainly understand the debilitating state that these birds were in," said Lt. T.J. Smith, Anne Arundel County Police Department.
Harmon now faces 89 criminal charges related to the treatment of the roosters.
All those charges had a judge setting Harmon's bail at $1.5 million. Now he's also in trouble for a probation violation.
Police seized three ducklings and a dog from the same property. Those animals have already been adopted out to other homes.