Cockfighting event in Fort Worth neighborhood broken up amid coronavirus pandemic
More than 40 birds were confiscated and six people were detained after police broke up a cockfighting event Sunday night in the back yard of a home, authorities said Monday
Authorities also found nine roosters dead at the scene.
Police arrested two homeowners and issued citations to three people for being a spectator of cockfighting.
Fort Worth police responded to a disturbance call shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday in the 3300 block of Burton Ave. in southeast Fort Worth.
A caller reported a rooster fighting ring in the neighborhood, and there were more than 20 vehicles parked on the street, with a crowd attending the event during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a police call log.
More than 20 patrol units descended on the scene.
Animal cruelty detectives are investigating the case.
A humane society organization has taken custody of the more than 40 roosters.
In one of the last cockfighting raids in the city, Fort Worth police arrested three men and seized 141 dead and alive birds at a back yard of a home on Windowmere Street.
Patrol officers responded to an animal call in May 2017 at 4308 Windowmere St.
When they arrived, officers heard roosters in the back yard of the residence. They looked through a fence and saw a large group of people, several chicken coops, a fighting ring and several dead roosters.
At about the same time, several men ran from the yard. Police captured several of them.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 8:43 AM with the headline "Cockfighting event in Fort Worth neighborhood broken up amid coronavirus pandemic."
