1,270 birds destroyed after raid on B.C. cockfighting ring
Destroying 1,270 birds seized in a Surrey, B.C., cockfighting investigation took more than a dozen SPCA officers about 13 hours, says an official from the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"The most horrific part of the warrant was having to euthanize every single one of the roosters on the property,'' said Shawn Eccles, BC SPCA chief animal prevention officer.
Eileen Dreever, a senior animal protection officer with the BC SPCA, said it was a painful experience for those who usually protect animals against cruelty.
"Each and every one of us had to justify what we were doing and why we were doing it and that was because if we didn't destroy these birds they would have died a horrible death," Dreever said Friday.
"We came across a number of birds with legs missing, eyes missing and they had puncture wounds to their bodies," she said.
"We had no choice but to destroy the birds. It angers me that all these birds had to lose their lives in the name of sports or a game."
While the SPCA has recommended that charges be laid against 27 people involved in the ring, police said Friday that charges are pending against only one man while their investigation continues.
RCMP Const. Annie Linteau said a 58-year-old man was detained and released, and it will be up to the Crown to decide whether charges are laid against him.
As part of their investigation, RCMP are looking into whether the cockfighting may be linked to organized crime.
SPCA officers were aided by the RCMP and Surrey bylaw officers when they executed search warrants and raided three properties in the rural area of Cloverdale earlier this week. The searches were carried out over two days, starting Wednesday evening.
Cockfighting may have been going in the area for the past three or four years, SPCA officials told a news conference in Vancouver Friday.
Some of the 1,270 fighting birds found on three properties were fed steroids and kept in a perpetual state of excitement.
The birds were kept tethered to barrels and several were suffering from injuries such as infected cuts, missing eyes and head wounds.
Officials said they found two fighting pits on two properties, as well as a wide variety of cockfighting paraphernalia, including curved metal spurs used to slash opponents, score cards, syringes and a feathered mock-up bird on the end of a stick.