A Dallas Justice of the Peace has granted the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) of Texas custody of 131 birds that were seized from an alleged cockfighting ring.
The Dallas Express previously reported Dallas Police and SPCA seized the 131 birds on February 12 in connection to a cockfighting investigation initiated after Dallas PD received an anonymous tip about a cockfight in progress.
However, the SPCA was granted custody of 131 birds after a civil custody hearing on February 18, according to the SPCA of Texas.
So far, nobody has come forward to claim ownership of the birds, meaning the birds will be held for ten days pending appeal from any potential owner.
According to the SPCA of Texas, the Honorable Valencia Nash awarded the SPCA $4,261.25 in restitution, a sum to be paid by the owner of the property where the birds were seized.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, authorities found eight hens and 125 roosters on the property. Two of the roosters were dead and are believed to have died of injuries sustained during a fight.
The SPCA also revealed that many of the roosters found on the property seemed “lethargic and severely injured with multiple wounds.”
Dallas Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Unit investigated the cockfighting incident and will determine if criminal charges will be brought forth, according to the SPCA of Texas.
The SPCA revealed that cockfighting is a crime in all 50 states of the country. It also revealed that cockfighting or the use of a property for cockfighting is a felony in Texas punishable by “up to two years in a state jail and/or up to a $10,000 fine.”
According to The Dallas Express, Texas law states “it is a Class A misdemeanor to possess, manufacture or sell cockfighting paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor to own or train a rooster with the intent to fight the bird and a Class C misdemeanor to be a spectator at a cockfight.”
