Santa Cruz Animal services obtains order to kill ex cockfighting roosters

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — A recent court order mandated the euthanasia of 25 former cockfighting roosters.

The birds were being held by Santa Cruz Animal Services.

Friday, at least three animal rescue groups tried to appeal the order, offering to take care of the birds and give them a safe home.

At the courthouse, the rescue groups found out that the county rushed to kill the birds the day prior.

The order to kill was made by the court's ruling on Wednesday.

The judge said that the rescue group's appeal was moot and immediately threw the motion out because the birds were already dead.

“Hen Harbor and Rooster Sanctuary and our attorney showed up. And, just immediately, we were told that the birds were euthanized," said Ariana Huemer of Hen Harbor. "They knew that there was a hearing today for a stay of execution, they knew that they had been speaking with us directly and our attorneys, and they knew that we had filed a stay of execution order. They went ahead and killed them all yesterday anyway.” 

The birds were game roosters, which animal rights groups argue could have been saved by relocating to sanctuaries.

"It's devastating and it's horrible and it's shocking. It's confusing as to why they would go ahead and kill these animals when there's a viable alternative for them right there," Huemer said. "There were five animal sanctuaries all ordered to take."

Despite this, the district attorney’s office ordered the destruction of the birds.

They cited a lack of resources to keep them alive.

They also called the former fighting roosters dangerous, but animal advocates are saying otherwise.

"There's no way that animal control legitimately thinks that a bird like this is a threat to the public," Huemer said. "[One of the roosters] handled the children regularly, he goes to the SPCA camp every single Summer and children love him. People love them, adopters actually love them and the children at the SPCA camp every summer love them."

"These are, you know, they're not unsafe. You can see people being able to handle them, nobody's getting their eyes pecked out," said Christine Kelly, an animal rights attorney. "No child is getting harmed. They're not out to kill everybody."

The Rooster Sanctuary had tried to request an emergency court order preventing the destruction of the birds.

They argued that there is no prejudice to the county in keeping the birds alive until a motion for reconsideration could be heard.

Santa Cruz Animal Service attorneys counter argued for the destruction of all the cockfighting roosters, which inevitably happened.

"The reason why it was moot is because the county had already killed the birds," said Kelly. "I was asking them not to kill the birds and to wait and hold on until we heard a motion on the merits, but she said it's moot because they're dead."

I reached out to the SCAS as well as the district attorney's office for comment, but neither have not gotten back to me yet.