Deputies for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office say they arrested a man after discovering 200 roosters that were allegedly used for cockfighting.
Officers responded to a welfare check Tuesday and discovered “an unrelated cockfighting pit” near the premises, according to a press release from authorities posted Thursday on Facebook. (Click HERE to sign up for the Daily Caller’s latest newsletter, Mr. Right)
The officers immediately obtained approval for a search warrant and investigated the property. The authorities found ten firearms and about 200 roosters, according to the the press release. The sheriff’s office claims the birds were “mutilated for the attachment of cockfighting knives.” (RELATED: ‘An Embarrassment’: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Criticized For Supporting Cockfighting)
200 mutilated roosters found during search of suspected cockfighting pit in Santa Cruz County https://t.co/qAaFVNkHwG
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 12, 2024
Soon after, law enforcement arrested 40-year-old Juan Buenrostro Ochoa. The officers appear to have also seized his firearms, according to photographs posted in the press release. The sheriff’s office did not indicate whether Ochoa possessed the firearms illegally. (Click HERE to sign up for the Daily Caller’s latest newsletter, Mr. Right)
Cockfighting is considered a misdemeanor in California, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.
In January, police in Oklahoma seized 77 birds while responding to a house fire. Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt appeared to openly support cockfighting in a video message to the state’s Game Fowl Commission’s meeting in 2023.
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