Jan 07 2009
Here they come to smoke the rooster.
According to “The Courier of Montgomery County,” a local newspaper for residents of Montgomery County in Texas, 193 roosters were euthanized after being recovered by local law enforcement. The roosters were used for cockfighting events. 23 dead roosters were found on the property. In addition to the 193 roosters taken into custody, 21 hens, three chicks and a dog were also taken in for questioning and later released to the local SPCA. Ok, that last part is a joke but not the number of hens, chicks and dog that were rescued and sent to the SPCA. The owner of the property, Mr. Luis Arias Benitez, faces 23 counts of animal cruelty along with several lesser gambling charges. Each animal cruelty charge is punishable by up to 2 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The gambling charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
There are so many things wrong with this story. Police arrested several others who were on the scene and issued citations for participating in gambling. Approximately 55 vehicles were towed from the scene of the fight and around 80 people are believed to have been present when the event was busted up. Who loses out? The roosters. Perhaps the hens lost their significant other but I am not really in a position to comment on chicken love.
Those people wanted to see a fight. A bloody duel to the death. I would rather pay to see those people locked up with those roosters. Talk about entertainment. On one hand, you have justice being served, and on the other you have the animals exacting their revenge. That’s got to leave a smile on some PETA fans. The human survivors of the real cockfight would still be required to serve their sentences and pay their fines. The avian survivors would be released into the open country to take their chances in the world, or they would get signed by Dana White and sent into the UFC octagon. They’d fight in the featherweight division, of course.
A sad side note is that this story was the headliner of The Courier on December 31, 2008! While other newspapers are reviewing the year and headlining Best of… articles, this publication thought the euthanization of roosters would be more interesting. It certainly is great for animal rights (way to go!) but, really, there has got to be something a bit more pleasant. I suppose if there were, then I would not be citing their article, would I?
The big question which remains is… Will Benitez be allowed to return to his quarterback job? Wait, that was another loser, wasn’t it?
