San Antonio officials seize 200 roosters, hens

SAN ANTONIO — Nearly 200 roosters and hens were discovered on two properties in a southern part of San Antonio, officials said Tuesday.

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Officials from Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Police Department obtained a search warrant to search the two properties, KSAT reported. The warrant was secured after authorities received complaints about an excess number of roosters, the television station reported.

The homes are located next door to each other and are connected by a path, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Officials said that so many birds in one location was a sign of a cockfighting ring.

“Anytime there’s a large number of roosters on a property, we want to check it out, first of all, for violation of the number of animals,” ACS interim director Shannon Sims told KSAT. “But secondarily, there’s not a lot of reasons to have a large number of roosters other than fighting.”

Sims said there were signs that the roosters were being groomed to fight.

“They’ve got some very organized coops back there, single housing for most of the roosters, which is also kind of a highlight for us that we look for,” Sims told KSAT.

Every animal will be documented and photographed. They will then be transported to ACS, Sims told KENS-TV.

Cox Media Group