JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eleven men were arrested Saturday after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office raided a Northside home and shut down an alleged rooster-fighting ring.
JSO said it began investigating after a neighbor reported suspected rooster fighting at a home on Jake Road, near Yellow Bluff Road. When officers arrived, they found several men gathered around a fighting pen in the backyard.
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Police said some were holding cash and drinking alcohol, while a referee monitored a fight.
JSO said the man ran away when officers tried to apprehend them. Seven were caught initially, and four more were arrested after a search. JSO reported that three men were found hiding in the rafters of a shed and another was hiding under the bed of a camper.
Those arrested were:
- Alejandro Gutierrez Garcia, 35
- Ariel Villavicencio Ruiz, 49
- Omar Bonet Suarez, 51
- Raydel Hernandez Lorenzo, 46
- Ariel Rivero Santana, 53
- Pablo Marrero Pena, 37
- Sergio Pupo Cespedes, 36
- Osvaldo Acosta, 61
- Hector Perez Gonzalez, 34
- Angel Sabater Mora, 42
- Damian Garcia Olivera, 50
Cespedes, Sabater, Gonzalez, and Gutierrez Garcia were illegal immigrants, according to JSO.
“This is animal cruelty, these guys have turned peaceful animals into foot-tall killing machines for sport and that’s unacceptable,” said JSO Vice Sergeant Guy Daniels, who responded to the scene.
He said the birds’ feathers were removed from the waist down and metal spurs were glued to their claws before the roosters were put into fights.
JSO said officers recovered 130 roosters. The Sheriff’s Office, along with Animal Control and Protective Services, decided to humanely euthanize the birds due to the risk of avian disease. Officials said the animals could not be rehabilitated because they had been raised to be aggressive.
Nearly $14,000 in cash was also recovered.
Animal Control praised JSO’s response, saying in part, “We will not tolerate anyone using animals for their own entertainment, especially in such a cruel way. We’ll continue to work this case to make sure all 11 men face the consequences of their actions. We would like to thank the person who called in the complaint which prompted our investigation.