Animal Control confiscates 16 fighting cocks in Riverside

Feathers decorated the grass and the air resounded with the piercing cries of 16 fighting cocks in the back yard at Sioux City Animal Control.

"We got a call today that complained there were chickens at a certain address," Cindy Rarrat, operator of the city's Animal Control, said. "We went out and investigated and they turned out to be fighting cocks and we impounded them."

Keeping fowl within the city limits is illegal.

"They are not easy animals to keep. You have to keep them separate because they are bred to fight," she said.

Cockfighting is a sport in which two roosters battle each other in a fight to the death. The sport is illegal.

All the birds found in Riverside are males. About half are young birds and have been given the run of a fenced back yard at Animal Control. The adults were caged in dog carriers, while a lone cock had a covered wagon to himself.

Animal Control also impounded two ducks at the residence in Riverside.

In talking to the caretaker of the birds, Rarrat said the man admitted the cocks had been fought.

"He didn't say where. We didn't find any evidence that they were being fought there," Rarrat said.

The caretaker said the birds were shipped to Sioux City "and then they ship them off to Mexico where it's legal to fight the chickens. We said that's fine, but you can't have them in Sioux City," Rarrat said.

Rarrat said no charges are expected to be brought against the birds' owner since he was not caught fighting the birds.

The red combs on top of the adult birds' heads have been cut off and the wounds cauterized.

"When they fight, if they get cut there, they tend to bleed a lot, so they're cut off," Rarrat said.

Examining an older rooster, Rarrat pointed out scars and places along its neck where it had lost feathers in past fights.

The cocks' sport sharp talons and spurs on their feet.

"They wrap the talons with cloth and attach razors to their feet, or blades or spikes," Rarrat said.

"They are beautiful birds," Rarrat said of the reddish-bronze feathers cascading over black and white tails. "They're about the size of a regular rooster, but more fit. I have no idea what they eat. We're just feeding them regular chicken feed."

And, she said above the din, "They crow all the time. They never stop - never."

Rarrat said she will place the birds up for adoption.

"I assume I'll try to find homes for them out of town and it will have to be one per household. Together they would kill each other," Rarrat said. "I assume they're valuable birds. ... I thought I had seen everything, but this is a first."

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