1 arrested in alleged Kensington cockfighting operation
Authorities seized 36 birds from a suspected cockfighting operation Tuesday in the city's Kensington section, officials said. Officers from the Pennsylvania SPCA executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2800 block of North Lee Street and confiscated the birds along with fighting paraphernalia, said PSPCA spokesman Gillian Kocher.
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Authorities seized 36 birds from a suspected cockfighting operation Tuesday in the city's Kensington section, officials said.
Officers from the Pennsylvania SPCA executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2800 block of North Lee Street and confiscated the birds along with fighting paraphernalia, said PSPCA spokesman Gillian Kocher.
The officers had been in the neighborhood on an unrelated case when they spotted birds dressed for fighting in the yard and evidence indicating additional birds were inside the property, Kocher said.
The birds, including fighting roosters and hens, were taken to PSPCA headquarters to be evaluated by a forensic veterinary team, Kocher said.
One person at the scene was arrested, she said. Charges were pending.
"Cockfighting is a brutal crime in which all animals involved suffer severe physical trauma," said George Bengal, the agency's director of humane law enforcement. "We want to remind the public that animal fighting is a felony and cannot be tolerated."
Anyone with information about suspected animal cruelty can call the PSPCA at 866-601-SPCA.
215-854-5983
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