20 roosters, hens seized after cockfighting broken up in Opelousas
An anonymous tip led law enforcement officers to a house in Opelousas where investigators found signs of cockfighting.
The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office received the tip Wednesday night about an in-progress event at a home in the 100 block of Leroy Brooks Road in the Opelousas area.
When they approached the home, deputies saw several cages at the home and multiple cars parked out front. As deputies pulled up at the home, people got into their cars and left, according to sheriff's office spokesperson Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux.
Animal control and sheriff's deputies talked with the homeowner who has he was boxing roosters, not fighting them, Thibodeaux said. The man said the roosters were placed inside an area with a small boxing glove that fit around the spurs of the roosters' feet.
The roosters would fight but the glove would only cause the mouths to bleed, the man told investigators, Thibodeaux said.
Deputies told the man boxing roosters was illegal.
When inspecting the home, deputies found a wooden-syle box with a dirt floor and what appeared to be fresh blood in the area, Thibodeaux said. Numerous hens and roosters were in wooden boxes and cages throughout the home.
The man was charged with 20 counts of cockfighting and 20 hens and roosters were seized from the home.
Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.
This article originally appeared on Opelousas Daily World: Cockfighting broken up in Opelousas; 20 hens, roosters seized
