[2Wycked]

Cockfighting pit able to hold 1,000 animals busted in Alabama

Quote:

Multiple undercover investigations by the FBI and the Humane Society of the United States led to federal authorities shutting down an illegal cockfighting pit in Citronelle.

The FBI executed a search warrant on Friday at 15325 Hutto Road and uncovered a huge arena with space for more than 1,000 animals. The arena had cockfighting paraphernalia, rental holding spaces for participants' birds, trophies and more.

An undercover FBI agent attended a illegal cockfighting derby a few months ago on April 23rd and witnessed Alabama Gamefowl Breeder's Association President John Helm addressing the crowd at the derby.

The agent reported that there were 117 participants in that derby, each with seven birds competing. At the derby, Helm encouraged all participants to join the AGBA and solicited donations.

Chris Schindler, Director of Animal Crimes for the HSUS said in a press release statement that they have been targeting the pit in Citronelle for years.

"It draws participants from across the region, has regular attendance of more than 400 people on a weekly basis, and can bring in more than $1 million throughout a cockfighting season, not counting side bets," said Schindler.

No one was at the location when the FBI seized the evidence and no arrest have been made at this time. The FBI and the HSUS are continuing their investigation at this time.

Going undercover to bust up illicit cock fighting? Sounds like a new recruit's dream job.

More here:

Quote:

MOBILE COUNTY, Ala (WPMI) — A Local 15 News exclusive investigation is getting results. We went undercover to expose an organized, highly-profitable cockfighting ring in Mobile County and now our work has gotten the attention of the F.B.I.

"They basically get stabbed so many times, one dies and the other is declared the winner," said an informant.

All the while, hundreds of people cheer and bet on this brutal blood sport called cockfighting.

"Once the two birds enter the arena, it's deafening in there people hollering I've got $50 over here or $100 over here," said the informant.

The roosters are shot up with drugs, armed with sharp steel blades and fight to their deaths. Handlers will even suck the blood out of a bird's beak to keep it from choking to death.

"Just whatever it takes to keep him fighting," said the informant.

We first exposed this organized, illegal cockfighting operation south of Citronelle in 2011. Now, we're getting results after Local 15 News supplied this year's fighting schedule and an informant to the F.B.I.

Friday, we had exclusive access as agents raided the operation and collected evidence.

"This is an elaborate operation," said Chris Schindler with the Humane Society of the United States.

This pit has been on the group's radar for years.

"This is the main pit," said Schindler as he pointed to the ring. "Each fight starts in this pit. There is bleacher seating. There are bleachers there, bleachers up top."

"This is how they're keeping up with all the entries," said Schindler pointing to a board. "These are short knife, short knife, long knife. And then this person right here won the six cock derby."

A tremendous amount of cash flowed through this operation. At the last fight, there were 115 entries. The entry fee was $500. That means more than $57,000 was collected in one fight alone.

"And that's just for the entries. That doesn't include side betting. That doesn't include the rental of the cock houses. That doesn't include the entry fees for people coming into to be spectators," said Schindler.

There's even a concession stand.

It's estimated more than $1 million funneled through the fighting season, which starts in December and runs through July.

"This is a really lucrative operation," said Schindler.

A federal affidavit identifies Steven Brewer, 49, as the pit owner.

"You've been named in federal documents as running an illegal cockfighting operation, do you have any comment," asked Ramey.

"How have you been able to keep this operation going for so many years?" asked Ramey

Brewer said nothing as he left F.B.I office in Mobile after being questioned.

In 2011 when we first exposed this pit, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office said it would shut it down. Spokesperson Lori Myles says enforcing weak state laws is a real challenge.

"We go out there. We have to send several deputies, several vehicles. Then we have to take the animals. We have to take care of the animals. And it costs us more to shut the place down," said Myles.

The maximum penalty in Alabama is just $50. But the feds can now slap a $100,000 fine on you just for watching a cockfight. It's another $150,000 and up to three years in prison if you bring a child.

Some call this blood sport entertainment, but most call it cruelty.

"It is torture. The injuries they sustain are horrific," said Schindler.

The affidavit also noted that the non-profit group, the Alabama Gamefowl Breeders Association, was not just present at fights, but also while there representatives asked for donations, and bragged about being able to lobby state lawmakers and persuade them not to make cockfighting laws tougher.

The F.B.I is currently reviewing the evidence collected during its search. No arrests have been made, but charges are anticipated.

Local 15 News will keep you posted on the latest in this ongoing investigation.

More pictures:





I couldn't find a video of this specific incident on Youtube, but I noticed that all the other videos were about animal fighting rings in the South:

What's the appeal of fighting animals, anyway? Is it that popular down south? How do you raise a rooster for fighting? They are already mean as shit creatures to begin with, shouldn't be too hard to get them to focus their aggression on each other. Regardless, I do not see the appeal of pitting animals against each other, it seems needlessly violent. I would rather see actual humans duking it out, not bird fowl.

[General Stalin]

It's really no different than horse and dog races - just fighting instead of running. Breeding and training animals solely to be physically more capable than others. I can see the appeal. Violent sport has been a part of human entertainment since the beginning of written history. The only reason why having animals fight is illegal and having people fight is okay is because of the generally held moral that animals are "innocent" and pitting them against eachother in blood sport is considered exploitation.

[The Beast1]

Why the concern for the animals OP?
I'd love to go to a cock fight. Bet some money, drink a beer.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood was watching a live Spanish bull fight. It breaks my heart to hear that they don't do bull fights much at all anymore now in Spain because of all of the limp wristed animal rights idiots.

Animals were put on this earth to serve humans. I'd have no problem putting an animal down.

I chalk this all up to a lack of masculinity. A little blood fight never hurt anyone.

[TravelerKai]

The appeal is just simple gambling. Instead of dog or horse racing, they fight roosters and dogs. It was popular in the Deep South for a very very long time. It's big in Mexico and Latin America too. If you think about it, roosters are cheaper and easier to maintain than a huge horse. A lot of the gambling is not for very large sums of money.

[TravelerKai]

(08-09-2016 04:19 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

Why the concern for the animals OP?
I'd love to go to a cock fight. Bet some money, drink a beer.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood was watching a live Spanish bull fight. It breaks my heart to hear that they don't do bull fights much at all anymore now in Spain because of all of the limp wristed animal rights idiots.

Animals were put on this earth to serve humans. I'd have no problem putting an animal down.

I chalk this all up to a lack of masculinity. A little blood fight never hurt anyone.

While animals are here to serve man, there is no point in stacking the sin of gambling and casting lots on their lives for amusement either. I hate animal worship just as much as the other legit redpilled man, but this activity is just waste of an otherwise useful animal. Ditto for dog fighting as well. At least they eat the bull after a bullfight.

[la bodhisattva]

Well shit, cast me amongst the "limp-wristed idiots" who don't get their jollies off on roosters being forced to peck the life from one another.

[Merenguero]

I wonder how many of the people holding these events or betting on them took a flight to Las Vegas and bet on Mayweather at least once since 1996. I'm guessing none of them. Chance of success if they made the trip just once? 100%

[Days of Broken Arrows]

Thanks to my deep contacts in the news biz, I was able to procure photos of some of the people behind this and some of the memorabilia they sold:

[Kona]

(08-09-2016 04:19 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

I'd love to go to a cock fight. Bet some money, drink a beer.

You missed a major one in Waianae here on Oahu this weekend.

Filipinos love chicken fights. These usually really good barbecue there.

I'm awful at picking winners though.

Aloha!

[Kingsley Davis]

Uncle Sam not getting a cut so...

[kaotic]

(08-09-2016 05:05 PM)Kingsley Davis Wrote:  

Uncle Sam not getting a cut so...

Nailed it.

[Don's D]

I grew up in this atmosphere, my father used to breed, sell, and fight them. You either love it or hate it. I love it, and I'm no gambling man. At one point we had over 10 acres full of game fowl.

Once you start breeding, you start noticing different traits, from speed, strength, plumage color, and temperament. You start breeding those traits, then your roosters start getting famous. From Texas there are a few famous breeders whose roosters carry their name Walter Kelso, and johnnie jumper.

I could write a data sheet but I would get carried away since there is so much history and culture behind this blood sport. I see it as liberals waging war on culture, always ruining someone else's joy. if you ever go to Mexico try to visit a palenque. The most popular ones are during the Feria de San Marcos, and Guadalajara during October.

Our property looked something like this

[Leonard D Neubache]

To each their own. Some say it's cruel. Way I see it, both roosters have a fighting chance not to become a McNugget, so there's that...

Personally I'll stick to betting on foxy boxing and women's mud wrestling.

[Atlanta Man]

Animals are property, pure and simple. No need to get the government involved. You can eat them, have them as pets, even fuck them as long as they are yours-it is none of my business or big daddy government's business what you do with your property. Now if you try to fuck my dog then we have a problem.

[IvanDrago]

[Chunnel]

When living in Panamá, one of my biggest regrets was not going to a cock fight. All the vaqueros would get shit faced and bet the little money they had, and most likely whip machetes out on each other in drunken rages.

A guy who lived about an hour's walk from me had a retired cock that he treated like a king. It just chilled inside his house, acting like a cat or a dog would.

All the fighting cocks in Panama were the smallest of the roosters. There was a cock at a buddy of mine's who walked around the yard con bravisimo. His owners called him Claudio and it was hilarious to see him strut around the yard taunting all the hens and the other roosters even though he was 60% the size of all the other chickens.

(08-09-2016 06:47 PM)Dons D Wrote:  

I grew up in this atmosphere, my father used to breed, sell, and fight them. You either love it or hate it. I love it, and I'm no gambling man. At one point we had over 10 acres full of game fowl.

Once you start breeding, you start noticing different traits, from speed, strength, plumage color, and temperament. You start breeding those traits, then your roosters start getting famous. From Texas there are a few famous breeders whose roosters carry their name Walter Kelso, and johnnie jumper.

I could write a data sheet but I would get carried away since there is so much history and culture behind this blood sport. I see it as liberals waging war on culture, always ruining someone else's joy. if you ever go to Mexico try to visit a palenque. The most popular ones are during the Feria de San Marcos, and Guadalajara during October.

Our property looked something like this

I'd be interested to hear anything you have to say about breeding roosters/chickens in general. Its something I hope to do once I have money saved to buy my own property.

[Sombro]

[Goldin Boy]

I don't see any problem with cockfighting on gambling on it. The animal is piece a property like a car. If I want to key my car, it's my right to do so as the lawful owner of that car.

To keep it 100% cockfighting is only an issue because:

1) Western society inculcates most to view animals as members of the family(or "fur babies").

2) Cockfighters don't pay out the nose for licenses and permits like horse-racing, boxing federations, etc do.

E.g. hunting is legal, if you have permits, but one animal killing/fighting another animal is barbarous, but that shit happens everyday in the wild! So we can deduce like Kingsley said that the only issue with cockfighting is that the gov't isn't getting a cut of the profit.

Weird Aside: This thread got me curious so I spent the afternoon googling, "animal bloodsports" and I learned about "goose pulling". This is what they do:

1. Tie the goose by it's feet, leave it dangling from a pole
2. People ride by it on a horse and try to pull its head off
3. Spectators bet on the equestrians
   

WT: Would Try

[MKE-Ed]

I got to see a huge cock fighting operation down in Puerto Rico back in 1980. They had this large arena set up and these guys were betting some serious amounts of cash on these birds. The birds were brutal and would sometimes fight until one of them was dead. This was a big deal there back then. The bird handlers would put razor sharp blades on the birds legs that they would use them to injure their opponents. I know that a number of years back, a bunch of people got busted for a running a similar operation in New York City.

[Chunnel]

(08-09-2016 09:13 PM)Goldin Boy Wrote:  

I don't see any problem with cockfighting on gambling on it. The animal is piece a property like a car. If I want to key my car, it's my right to do so as the lawful owner of that car.

To keep it 100% cockfighting is only an issue because:

1) Western society inculcates most to view animals as members of the family(or "fur babies").

2) Cockfighters don't pay out the nose for licenses and permits like horse-racing, boxing federations, etc do.

E.g. hunting is legal, if you have permits, but one animal killing/fighting another animal is barbarous, but that shit happens everyday in the wild! So we can deduce like Kingsley said that the only issue with cockfighting is that the gov't isn't getting a cut of the profit.

Weird Aside: This thread got me curious so I spent the afternoon googling, "animal bloodsports" and I learned about "goose pulling". This is what they do:

1. Tie the goose by it's feet, leave it dangling from a pole
2. People ride by it on a horse and try to pull its head off
3. Spectators bet on the equestrians
   

WT: Would Try

Crazier yet, in Panama, they bury ducks in the ground with only their head sticking out. Cowboys take turns riding by, attempting to lasso the duck. Of course money is bet on every round. I didn't really know what to expect when it was happening, but stood in shock the first time a duck's head got ripped off and the neck was still flailing around.

[porscheguy]

(08-09-2016 04:02 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  

What's the appeal of fighting animals, anyway? Is it that popular down south? How do you raise a rooster for fighting? They are already mean as shit creatures to begin with, shouldn't be too hard to get them to focus their aggression on each other. Regardless, I do not see the appeal of pitting animals against each other, it seems needlessly violent. I would rather see actual humans duking it out, not bird fowl.

I don't see a point in it as it serves no practical purpose. However, I've got a Bichon/Jack Russel mix, and I've been hitting places like Pet Smart asking if they sell feeder mice because I want to see if his rat catcher genes are up to snuff. I would definitely like to hold some rat baiting parties out by the pool. I could invite all of the rich bitches in my area to bring their little designer "morkies" (maltese/yorkie) over and let them test themselves against 1-2 dozen rats. A good Yorkie can kill 15 rats/minute. A Jack ought to be able to top that easily.

[Skull_Leader]

The word "Cock" has been said 55 times so far.
Will this thread hold the record for "The most cock in a single RVF thread?"
The world may never know...

[realologist]

(08-09-2016 10:57 PM)Skull_Leader Wrote:  

The word "Cock" has been said 55 times so far.
Will this thread hold the record for "The most cock in a single RVF thread?"
The world may never know...

Not true. This thread had the most cock ever seen on an RVF thread. It is immortalized with a 32 ounce cup and a 32 ounce something else.

[azulsombra]

I saw a cockfight in the Philippines just for the sheer novelty of it. 100% masculine environment, zero women in attendance. The fights are over rather quickly and new bets are taken. How is this any more barbaric than breeding chickens for slaughter and injecting them with hormones and feeding them all kinds of bullshit? The chickens or roosters die either way, neither method is painless.

The fact that the FBI diverts time and resources on this nonsense when they could be working on actual racial hate crimes, terrorism or stopping child porn rings boggles the mind. Nope, its far easier to infiltrate a barn yard where a group of bored country guys are doing doing what bored country guys have always done.

Also, three years in federal prison for taking a child to a cockfight!?!? Because THATS the thing that will scar him for life. So if you take your 13 year old nephew to a cockfight and the Feds sweep in you are now a felon serving hard time but if his 45 year old teacher is caught fucking him in homeroom class she will get 6 months probation and counseling. Gotta love the 'Murican justice system and the pussy pass.

[ElConquistador]

I suppose it's not surprising that it took several months for the FBI to "raid" the place after the agent went undercover and attended one of the weekly events. Typical incompetence with most government employees dragging their knuckles at every opportunity. And not only that, but they served the warrant while no one was even there. It's similar to the DEA raiding cannabis dispensaries in full force and stomping their boots on the necks of passive potheads, instead of going after hard targets like meth labs. Like what has been said before, it's pathetic that will all the evil in this country the FBI is lazily strolling into cock fighting establishments and not even arresting anyone instead of actually going after the real plagues upon society.