Authorities: 30 people cited, nearly 40 birds seized in bust of California cockfighting ring

Authorities: 30 cited in Calif. cockfighting bust

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Authorities in Southern California’s Riverside County say 30 people have been cited and more than three dozen roosters euthanized after a raid on an illegal cockfighting ring near the Salton Sea.

The county Department of Animal Services said in a news release that sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers stormed the ring in the North Shore area Sunday.

The agency says deputies stationed on off-road vehicles intercepted people as they attempted to flee into the surrounding desert.

Three roosters were already bloody from early-morning fighting. The department says 37 birds were seized and euthanized.

Deputy Director Frank Corvino says Animal Services doesn’t put the roosters up for adoption because they would end up back in cockfighting operations.