Published Tuesday, February 24, 2009 6:05 AM
2 charged in Grimes cockfights
By CASSIE SMITH
cassie.smith@theeagle.com
Eagle photo/Dave McDermand
Randy Farmer, an investigator with Houston's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, stacks pens filled with more than 200 fighting cocks, chicks and hens onto a trailer. The animals were confiscated Monday in the backyard of a home off Independence Road in Grimes County.
Eagle photo/Dave McDermand
More than 200 fighting cocks, chicks and hens were confiscated Monday in the backyard of a home off Independence Road in Grimes County.
Eagle photo/Dave McDermand
A Houston SPCA investigator looks for stray fighting cocks Monday among the dozens of huts where the animals were kept prior to their removal.
BEDIAS -- Chicks were hatching as officials gathered more than 225 roosters, chickens and even some eggs Monday after Grimes County authorities arrested two men for organizing a cockfight that brought in thousands of dollars.
Eldifonson "Eddie" Perrett Montano, 35, and Roberto Carlos Cardona-Gonzalez, 28, each were charged with fighting the roosters. The crime is considered a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years behind bars.
Authorities arrested the pair Sunday after an unidentified person tipped police that people would be gathered at 11773 Independence Road near Bedias to bet on the roosters as they fought to the death, said Grimes County Constable Dale Schaper.
But it won't be the jail time or the fine that will devastate the men -- it will be having the animals seized and eliminating their business, Schaper said.
"That sends the message home more than everything else," he said, adding that Montano cried when he heard he would lose his animals and said he couldn't bear to watch police take them away.
Schaper said they found
17 "freshly dead" roosters and more than 225 well-fed and maintained hens, chicks, eggs and roosters, along with paraphernalia used in cockfighting, including steroids, vitamins, needles, knives, videos and weights.
Grimes County Sheriff's Department Lt. Blake Jarvis said the amount and variety of paraphernalia didn't surprise him.
"This is a whole industry," Jarvis said as he pointed out the fighting ring, which was doused with blood and feathers. "It's kind of like growing marijuana. You have to know all the recipe to make it work."
The men could face as many as 17 charges for each of the roosters found dead, because each was considered evidence of a fight, Schaper said.
He said that, on Sunday, officials drove past the house where Montano and Cardona lived and saw about 25 vehicles parked along the road with license plates traced to Houston and Hempstead. With cages in the back of some trucks, a security fence and knowledge that Montano raised chickens, Schaper said authorities had enough evidence to obtain a search-and-seizure warrant.
The vehicles were gone when officials returned with the warrants, but Montano and Cardona were arrested, he said.
Officials with Houston's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, some of whom were attacked by the roosters while gathering them, loaded a trailer with cage after cage of roosters and chickens stacked to the top. They also collected the eggs.
The animal protection organization and shelter will keep the animals until a judge decides whether the two men arrested can have them back.
The animals will undergo behavioral and physical evaluations and be taken care of to be prepared for adoption if the judge awards custody to the organization, spokeswoman Meera Nandlal said.
"It's very unfortunate they treat animals the way they do," she said, adding that officials with the TV show Animal Planet accompanied them to the rural backyard. "From the smallest to the largest animals -- they are all living things, and they can all feel pain."
It's not illegal to watch cockfighting, as is the case with dog fighting, but it is against the law to fight the roosters, Nandlal said, adding there was evidence the people had tied three-inch, curved knife-life picks to the roosters' feet during the fights.
Roosters were found with shaved combs and throats, which makes the animals less vulnerable to pecking, Jarvis said.
"This was not just something thrown together," Schaper said, adding that the highly organized facilities, which contained various pens, cages and incubators, were impressive, even as they were littered with beer and soda cans.
Nearby homes could be seen from the house, but the backyard was fenced in and the ring was hidden from neighbors.
Schaper said Montano charged $350 per rooster to fight, bringing in close to $6,000 with at least 17 fights. However, he said, it's typical that there is a lot of betting unfolding on the side, which could have resulted in thousands more for the winners. It was unclear how much the organizers made with such an event.
Jarvis said people get into cockfighting for the "money and entertainment."
"It's kind of a cultural deal," he said, adding that the blood sport is popular in Mexico.
While it's true these birds fight over food, territory or mates, Schaper said, rarely do the encounters result in serious injury.
Schaper said Montano told them it had been his dream since he was 14 years old to go into the cockfighting business. Now that both men have posted bail, Schaper said, he wouldn't be surprised if they tried to revive the business.
Comments
14 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:46 PM
Comment Title:
i cannot believe what i'm reading, did they really put these men in jail for cockfighting? are you serious, i didn't even know that was a crime? have you ever been to sanderson farms, they need to jail the owners of that place, do you know the type of chemical that are put in the chicken we ingest, why not work on that instead of breaking up good ole entertainment. this makes no sense AT ALL! i bet those chickens or roosters are alot healthier than the processed chicken we eat. leave these men alone, leave these chickens alone. arresting these men is just pointless, they're not thieves, they're not selling drugs, they're not harming anyone. they're just playing with chicken. it's not a big deal.
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Posted by:
BRO On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 4:22 PM
Comment Title: The Truth
If I was a chicken I would rather put up a fight then die getting my head chopped off out of no where at sanderson farms.
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Posted by:
On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 1:33 PM
Comment Title: America
Ignorant people are entitled to entertainment also.
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Posted by:
On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 9:58 AM
Comment Title:
well now that they are in jail, i guess they will be having ..rat races.
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Posted by:
Cock FIghts Rule!!!!!!!! On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 4:45 AM
Comment Title: Hmmmm
The next time your rolling down the street or sitting or in your office scarfing down McNuggets, BBQ wings, Or the Chicken Concentration camp known as KFC. Just ask yourself, did the chicken have a fighting chance? Did the chicken ever get to roam out on the farm? How about a decent coop? Did it ever once get to stretch those chicken legs? I wonder if it felt compassion for its steroid infested cage clad chicken brethren? Was your rotisserie emotionally sound?
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Posted by:
Future Pres On:
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 1:03 AM
Comment Title: TO THIS IDIOT: Stop the invasion of illegals???
We all know you wanna vent out but what does that have to do with anything here???? you sound like a donkey hee honking for no reason. Go back to your trailer and watch re-runs of Roseanne. So brave behind a computer huh? but your hidden away eating nachos and venting on web-sites.
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Posted by:
BillyBob On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:16 PM
Comment Title: We All Know
We all know its illegal not because of the animals but because the state wants in on the betting money. YEP I KNOW IT FOR A FACT.
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:50 PM
Comment Title:
Stop the invasion of illegals and you will curtail the cock fighting. People who cock fight and dog fight are cowards and need to be thrown in the ring and fight each other. This is the a huge sport in Mexico and it is here because............yeah, you know!
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 7:29 PM
Comment Title: C**K Fighting all around.
On the KBTX site a poster wrote, "If you think this news is interesting, The Lee County Sheriff and his chief deputy are under investigation for protecting these types of chicken fighting operations in Lee County. Check with the AG's office for verification." I hope the Eagle will update us on this case too.
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 3:54 PM
Comment Title: Are you kidding
We have all the UFC fights on tv these guys are on more dope to not feel the pain than any rooster. The fighters make millions the promotors make millions not to mention advertising etc. And then you have the guts to talk about kids not having feelings after watching this kind of stuff. Two wars going on cnn-fox showing all the murders around the world and we have time to worry about a rooster. I could give a #@$% either way I work to hard for my money to be a betting man. But to try and compare dog or chicken fights to what humans are doing to eachother for money,pleasure or in the name of freedom. How and when did we get so messed up?
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Posted by:
CountyGuy On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 1:53 PM
Comment Title: What is Cockfighting?
What is Cockfighting? Cockfighting is an organized fight between two roosters who are placed in a pit to fight each other. The roosters have been trained to severely injure and/or kill one another. These birds, which are raised for the purpose of fighting, are tormented to make them aggressive. They are also given various legal and illegal drugs such as strychnine, caffeine, amphetamines, and epinephrine to make them more aggressive, increase their endurance and clot the blood that will flow during the fight. The natural spurs of the roosters are sawed off and replaced by razor sharp steel blades or curved implements called gaffs which measure from one to three inches long. During the fight, from which neither rooster can escape, the birds peck and maim one another with their beaks and weapons. The long, sharp gaffs stab deep into the flesh often requiring handlers to physically pull the animals apart. Although they have been bred to fight, the animals often become tired, incapable and suffer severe injuries. The fight only ends when one rooster is dead or is too weak to fight. The loser then gets thrown in the trash, sometimes while still alive. For the winner, there is no guarantee that he will survive his injuries and often ends up with the same fate as the losing bird. Cockfights are held before an arena of cheering spectators who often wager large sums of money on the outcome of the contest. Children are often present at the fights, leading to concern that they are being desensitized to the suffering of others and they are being encouraged to use violence. I wonder why the crime rate continues to soar.
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Posted by:
CR3 On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:19 AM
Comment Title: Chickens
Cock Fighting? Dont that hurt? He He
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Posted by:
Andy@TAMU On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:40 AM
Comment Title: Bollocks
Yes, leave the chicken fighters alone. In Hell. Double that for dog fighters. Chickens can fight all they want, just leave the humans out of it. Nature doesn't have them fight where they can't get away. What kind of improvement to the breed do you want? Tougher meat? Chickens aren't the breed that needs improving.
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Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8:25 AM
Comment Title: Chickens have fought forever
It is the nature of game chicken roosters to fight to the death. Why do you think they are cooped individually? There's nothing wrong with allowing an animal to act out its nature. It improves the breed. Leave the chicken fighters alone.
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