New york: Nine people were arrested and some 3,000 fighting roosters and hens rescued when New York authorities busted a cockfighting ring they said was one of the biggest ever uncovered in the United States.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneid-erman said: “Cockfighting is a cruel, abusive and barbaric practice that tortures animals, endangers the health and safety of the public and is known to facilitate other crimes.” Officials raided an apartment building in the New York City borough of Queens where 70 people were attending a fight overnight on Saturday, and also a pet shop in Brooklyn that dealt in fighting chickens as well as a 90-acre farm in Plattekill, New York, where thousands of roosters and hens were kept and trained.
“Operation Angry Birds,” named after a mobile game, targeted a gambling operation where people bet up to $10,000 on a single fight to see roosters, often fitted with knives, battle to the death. Reuters
