A Parker County illegal alien, Ernesto Rocha Ramirez, is facing felony charges after sheriff’s deputies allegedly uncovered a cockfighting training operation where roosters were found with injuries consistent with abuse, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.
Animal Control officers responded on March 23 to a residence in north-central Parker County for an animal welfare check and found wounded chickens displaying injuries indicative of cockfighting, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies and investigators were then called to the scene, leading to the execution of an animal seizure warrant. During the investigation, authorities said they found birds that had been “LIVE PLUCKED,” with feathers ripped from their breasts and legs and shaved from their backs.
Investigators also found that several birds’ natural leg spurs had been cut excessively short, which authorities said is done so steel fighting gaffs, spurs, and blades can be attached more easily during fights.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators found more than 200 chicken coops on the property, many containing dead birds. Authorities also said they recovered birds being kept in single-bird transport containers, along with what they described as injectable anabolic steroids, antibiotics, and wing tags.
Investigators further located a structure containing a large oval-shaped room with rooster decoys and other equipment allegedly used to train fighting roosters, according to the sheriff’s office.
During the initial phase of the investigation, 28 roosters and 14 hens were seized and taken to a local veterinarian, who determined the birds had suffered cruel and unnecessary treatment, the sheriff’s office said. According to the sheriff’s office, the veterinarian found no medical reason for the birds to have been live plucked or to have their spurs cut so short and said the acts were consistent with torture.
After what authorities described as a thorough investigation by Animal Control officers, deputies, and investigators, arrest warrants were issued for Ernesto Rocha Ramirez on charges of cockfighting and cruelty to livestock, both felonies.
Ramirez was arrested without incident on March 31. The sheriff’s office said authorities determined Ramirez was in the United States illegally, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him pending a deportation hearing. He is being held in the Parker County Jail without bond.
Investigators returned to the property on April 2 and seized an additional 359 birds with assistance from the Fort Worth-based Animal Investigations and Response team, according to the sheriff’s office. The birds were taken to the Weatherford Animal Shelter for care and medical treatment while awaiting disposition.
Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said his office takes animal cruelty cases seriously.
“Whether it swims, flies, walks, or crawls we take animal cruelty cases very seriously here in Parker County,” Authier said. “If there are any folks out there that don’t believe that they can FAFO. We have a place for them to stay too.”
Sergeant Shane Cartwright, public information officer for the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, provided details of the investigation.
