The Statesman reported in early March that Buda police shut down what was believed to be a cockfighting operation in the small town just south of Austin. After happening upon wounded roosters and chickens while performing other duties, the police department investigated further and found over forty of the birds; many showed signs that they had been used in cockfighting including missing feathers and aggressive behavior. The police seized all of the birds and transported them to a local animal shelter where their future remains uncertain. What legal fate awaits the animals' owner is unknown. But now he and others like him can and should be punished for participating in cockfighting.
Another case in which officials were able to action occurred earlier this year. San Antonio news affiliate WOAI reported on a huge cockfighting ring where nearly one hundred fifty roosters were forced to fight one another. The animals that survived were seized, along with thousands of dollars, and given over to animal services for care.
Thanks to a law passed in Texas during last year's legislative session, people who breed fowl to fight or who participate in or profit from cockfighting can be prosecuted. This new law in place to protect roosters and chickens from being forced to fight, along with the Puppy Mill law and others the state passed to promote animal welfare, has helped Texas to improve its rating on the Humane Society Legislative Fund's scorecard. We moved up nine ranks in 2011 from 2010, not to mention the six THLN-supported laws the Texas Government signed into law, as shown on the Texas Scorecard. If you like what our state representatives have done to protect chickens and roosters among other animals, let them know! You can find out who represents you by clicking here.
