Politics & Government
Community Forum To Address Cockfighting Crackdown
The county is looking for input on a proposed limit to the number of roosters residents can keep in areas such as Montrose-La Crescenta.
MONTROSE-LA CRESCENTA, CA — Montrose and La Crescenta residents will have a chance Thursday to comment on a proposal designed to crack down on cockfighting in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
The Board of Supervisors voted in December to set limits on the number of roosters that residents can keep in unincorporated areas and charged the Department of Animal Care and Control with setting the right number.
A community forum -- the third of eight -- will be held in Altadena Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Charles S. Farnsworth Park, 568 E. Mount Curve Ave. A full calendar of forums can be found at www.animalcare.lacounty.gov.
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Residents may also submit comments via email to alegal@animalcare.lacounty.gov or by mail to Proposed Rooster Ordinance, Department of Animal Care and Control, 5898 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90805.
Many cities already prohibit roosters or limit the number allowed per residence. Neighbors typically complain about noise and odor when large numbers of birds are housed nearby. But paraphernalia for fights is often kept separate from the birds, making it hard for deputies to make arrests and shut down illegal operations.
Find out what's happening in Montrose-La Crescentafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Cockfighting is an inhumane crime in which animals are forced to fight to the death for amusement and gain," Supervisor Kathryn Barger wrote in a December motion, co-authored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. "Other crimes such as gambling, illegal drugs, weapons, prostitution and child abuse occur during these fights."
Barger pointed to the seizure of nearly 7,000 birds in a raid last May 15 in the unincorporated community of Val Verde in the Santa Clarita Valley. It was the largest seizure of illegal cockfighting birds in U.S. history, according to the county Department of Animal Care and Control.
All of those birds had to be euthanized because of the aggressive nature of roosters bred for fighting and also because of concerns about the spread of disease. Thousands of chickens statewide were euthanized in 2003 when fighting chickens brought from Mexico into the U.S. were found to have Exotic Newcastle Disease.
City News Service; Photo: (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)