Nearly 300 birds, shotgun seized in cockfighting search warrant

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies Monday seized almost 300 birds, a 20-gauge shotgun and other items related to an alleged cockfighting ring in the Antelope Valley, authorities said.

Deputies from the department’s Community Oriented Services Bureau found the birds after carrying out a search warrant in the 34200 block of 90th Street East in Juniper Hills.

A suspect has been identified, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release, and the case will be sent to the district attorney’s office for consideration.

Animal Control officers helped examine the 279 birds found on site. Of those, 239 were missing their combs and wattles, as well as their rear feathers -- all signs that the birds were to be used for fighting, officials said. The other 40 birds were hens allegedly used for breeding.

Also seized at the scene were the shotgun, ammunition, medicine for the birds and razor blades to be strapped to the roosters’ legs, called gaffs.

Anyone with information about the alleged cockfighting is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s COPS bureau at (323) 627-8137.

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