3 January 16 - 22, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents PLAYING CHICKEN A Southern state’s effort to lessen cockfighting penalties is about freedom and rural heritage, bird breeders say. Texas isn’t buying it. By Alyssa Fields A blood-soaked rainbow of feathers decorates the ground, the last breaths of a dying rooster escape in weak squawks, onlookers cheer and a victorious bettor happily ac- cepts his payout. The losing bird, with gouged eyes, broken bones and punctured lungs, is shoveled to his final resting place — the closest trash can. This isn’t a one-time event — it’s a common occurrence in North Texas. Cockfighting is the illegal practice of forcing gamefowl roosters to fight one an- other, often to the death. Small knives, called gaffs, are tied to the bird’s spurs, and the flightless fowl are penned in a ring until one of the birds cannot continue. Gamefowl were intentionally bred for the blood sport and are a naturally aggressive breed, but fighting birds are given steroids and supple- ments to maximize damage. “I have seen so many roosters bleeding out, left to die,” said Maura Davies, a spokes- person for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Texas. “It just breaks my heart. It’s so hard to see, suffer- ing. Watching animals suffer at that level is always hard, no matter when or where it happens.” Recent arrests and animal seizures reveal a pervasive animal-cruelty issue in North Texas. But as local and national legislators plan to patch cracks in the system that allow cockfighting to persist, a growing voice in the South advocates for the opposite. Fighting in Dallas O n Dec. 17, 2024, the SPCA of Texas busted a large cockfighting ring in Kaufman County. Two months earlier, a relative of the Kaufman County cocker — the person who breeds and trains fighting birds — was arrested for the same offense farther east in Van Zandt County. In April 2023, the Dallas Police De- partment responded to a shooting in the southeast area of the city. In their search of the property they found gaffs and 2,000 chickens, many of which they believe were trained to fight. Ac- cording to reports, the shooting was a result of a fight between the owner of the rooster mill and a disgruntled buyer disappointed in a recently purchased rooster’s performance in cockfights. The victim survived, and the shooter was arrested and charged with as- sault. He was never charged for cock- fighting. The December rescue mission saved the lives of 50 roosters, 43 hens, 34 dogs and 10 puppies when the animals were taken into cus- tody by the SPCA of Texas. It was the first time Courtney Burns, the organiza- tion’s chief investi- gator, had seen cockfighting and dogfighting coexist- ing. Blood-stained treadmills, weighted collars and inhumane sheltering conditions on the property pointed to animal fights, and the SPCA opened an investigation. This wasn’t the first time investigators took the 40-minute drive to Kaufman County to bust a cockfighting ring. In 2018, the SPCA of Texas rescued 90 birds and three dogs from a separate facility in the same county. After scouring the property, investigators found roosters crammed in wire cages with metal covers in a makeshift barn. The metal covers block out any natural light, keeping the roosters in complete isolation and en- hancing their irritability. Their water source was tainted, and the drugs used to promote aggression weren’t far away. Investigators found gaffs, blood on treadmills and used breaksticks — the instrument used to pry dogs’ jaws apart during fights. Following tips of cockfighting, investi- gators spent months looking into Barry Cook before the raid, then charged him with one count of cockfighting and one count of possessing gaffs. Cook pleaded guilty to cockfighting and was sentenced to one year in jail and 40 hours of community service. SPCA of Texas | UNFAIR PARK | >> p4 SPCA of Texas A rooster rescued from Dallas County in 2017. SPCA of Texas staff clean up an illegal cockfighting location in Dallas county.
