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Two Santa Cruz County residents were back in court last week on charges orchestrated a cockfighting ring in Watsonville.
The criminal proceeding is one of two cockfighting cases currently before county courts as prosecutors seek to quell illegal activity that, according to Todd Stosuy, field services manager for the Santa County Animal Shelter Cruz, has become “a serious problem in our community”.
Brett Kenneth Miller, 58, and Angie Gonzalez, 21, face charges of animal cruelty, as well as multiple firearms offences. In February animal control officers removed around 200 chickens, several emaciated dogs and a number of firearms from a Ranport Road property.
Both men will return to court on June 23 to confirm the date of their preliminary hearing, tentatively scheduled for June 26.
Although the prevalence of cockfighting in the county is difficult to track because “it’s still underground,” Stosuy said he has investigated and prosecuted dozens of cockfighting cases during his nearly 20 years in office. within the shelter.
Cockfighting rings are fueled by organized crime, said Eric Sakach, Sacramento-based law enforcement consultant for Animal Wellness Action, who has worked with the Humane Society for 44 years. This activity is used as a form of illegal gambling and often as a way to launder money without attracting much attention from law enforcement.
“There are no tax consequences,” Sakach said. “Your chances of being handed over to tax revenue services are minimal, which also makes it an easy way to launder money. »
Many people involved in animal fighting invest huge sums of money in this activity and also engage in other serious illicit activities such as drug, arms and human trafficking. However, it is largely money that keeps animal fighting going, he said.
“When we talk about cockfighting and dogfighting, we’re talking about activities that are highly organized and are actually forms of organized crime,” Sakach said.
The difficulties in investigating and prosecuting cockfighting stem from the fact that the activity is considered a misdemeanor in California, which means it is often not considered a high priority by criminal investigators.
Sakach said he has worked on a number of measures over the decades aimed at increasing penalties for cockfighting, with mixed results. “I think there was some reluctance on the part of lawmakers to sign criminal penalties for cruelty to birds or chickens, mainly because we eat chickens and we don’t usually eat dogs,” a- he declared. “It is only for this reason that dogs have a higher level of protection. »
Ariana Huemer of the nonprofit Hen Harbor Rescue in Felton.
(Alison Gamel/Lookout Santa Cruz)
Ariana Huemer is the manager of Hen Harbor, a nonprofit sanctuary in Felton that houses chickens with the goal of reintroducing them to the community as pets.
Huemer, who worked for the Humane Society for 17 years, said she believed investigators lacked sufficient understanding of chickens and game birds. “I believe animal control is often run by people who just don’t have the right knowledge about birds and their behavior,” she said.
Sakach pointed to the lack of training for law enforcement on animal cruelty in general. Some counties leave it up to animal control agencies to handle animal cruelty cases without the help of law enforcement, he said: “Animal control officers are generally not equipped to deal with misdemeanors and crimes, even though they receive training.
Stosuy said officers and caregivers at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter are trained to handle a number of different species, including farm animals, turtles, ducks, rabbits, fish and cockfighting birds.
When a cockfighting operation is disrupted, Stosuy said the birds involved are seized and treated as evidence. This means that their chain of custody must be documented and tracked.
Stosuy added that prosecutors can request that birds be put down if they are found to be overly aggressive or have communicable diseases.
“Owning or possessing birds used for cockfighting is illegal in California, and it would not be appropriate for us to adopt illegal animals,” he said.
Roosters used in cockfighting are often fed steroids, performance-enhancing vitamins and other supplements that make them unsuitable for adoption, Stosuy said – a major reason roosters are euthanized at such high rates. higher than other animals in shelters.
Santa Cruz County requires people to hold a permit for locations with male game birds or male game birds to reduce breeding for cockfighting operations while still allowing people to keep legal roosters. One can only obtain a permit if he resides in an “agricultural residential”. area district.
Huemer says she disapproves of the culling of rescued game, as well as the order as a whole, arguing that the restrictions prevent the birds from being rehomed. She argues that society needs a cultural shift in how it views birds used in cockfighting in order to truly curb this illegal activity.
“People love to talk about their pets, like dogs and cats, and I think we need to change the way we see chickens and roosters as the individuals they are,” she said. . “I don’t think I’ll see that in my lifetime.”
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