Dozens Of Birds Await Euthanization After Cockfighting Bust

PLACER COUNTY, Calif. (CBS13) -- Dozens of roosters will eventually be put down after authorities busted a major cockfight earlier this month, and the site of the incident is still littered with bloody evidence.

The Placer County Sheriff's Department said 17 roosters were found torn to pieces and dumped in a barrel at the scene, and another 7 had to be put down.

Nearly 40 birds were rescued but will all have to be euthanized. Because the animals are raised for fighting, they cannot be adopted out safely, officials said.

Neighbor Rene Morriera says her friend heard the shrill cries of the birds last Sunday at a home that has been vacant for a year, but when deputies arrived, more than a dozen spectators scattered.

Blood and torn feathers are still strewn around the makeshift ring.

"When they fight each other, they fight to the death, or when one is maimed to too injured to go on," said Lt. Mark Reed.

Cockfighting is common in Mexico but is considered an illegal blood sport in California. The roosters are kept in small wooden cases, injected with steroids and forced to go head-to-head wearing razor blades tied to their talons.

Seven people were cited for watching the matches, but nobody has yet been criminally charged for the incident.