SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — WARNING: This story contains details of animal cruelty.
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. -- A search warrant is giving insights into the conditions 39 roosters and hens were found in when they were seized by the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) on Aug. 4.
SCRAPS got a search warrant for a home on East 3rd Avenue in Spokane Valley after receiving multiple reports of cockfighting activity. The warrant was filed in District Court Monday.
According to the warrant, someone called SCRAPS saying there were 15 to 20 chickens confined to 2-foot-by-2-foot cages at the home. The person also mentioned the previous tenant told them that the current tenants of the home would be “fighting chicken,” documents say.
A Spokane Valley Code Enforcement officer also called SCRAPS and reported seeing at least a dozen roosters and a rooster dummy, which is commonly used to train roosters for fighting, documents say. The officer categorized her findings as evidence of cockfighting and provided photographs to SCRAPS, according to court documents. The officer also contacted the owner of the house who said the current tenant was a “good friend” and only provided her with a first name, documents say.
A SCRAPS field operations manager and an animal protection officer drove by the location and saw roosters lacking access to food and water, according to documents. They also saw roosters open mouth breathing, which is abnormal behavior for roosters and suggests they’re in distress, documents say. Several roosters were missing combs and wattles and some had their spurs cut, court documents say. People who raise, train and fight their roosters will alter their birds by surgically removing the combs, wattles and spurs to reduce their weight, enhance endurance, prevent hemorrhaging during fights and/or allow them to attach artificial spurs or blades, according to documents.
No arrests have been made in connection to the case so far. Anyone with information about animal fighting in Spokane County is asked to contact SCRAPS at 509-477-2532 or SCRAPS@spokanecounty.org.