Rescue and rehabilitation: addressing cockfighting in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The recent bust of a cockfighting ring in Santa Cruz county has raised concerns about animal cruelty in the community.

I had the opportunity to speak with Ariana Huemer who runs hen harbor for cockfighting refugees. She tells me she's deeply concerned for the welfare of these animals.

Ariana Huemer, a longtime resident of Felton and owner of several roosters herself, expressed her alarm after the recent discovery of a cockfighting operation not too far from her home. 

Last month, Santa Cruz deputies and animal control officers rescued approximately 200 roosters, all of which had been mutilated for the attachment of cockfighting knives. 

“Misdemeanor penalties are so light there’s no deterrent at all," Ariana Huemer said.

Ariana has heard about cockfighting happening in the Santa Cruz mountains before but this recent incident hit too close to home.

She runs hen harbor which is a rescue and sanctuary for roosters who have been rescued from similar situations.

"We normally focus on hens until I actually started to find the overpopulation of roasters," Huemer said. "I found many homeless roosters, there are people who make a mistake with they order Easter chicks and find roosters in their order and have nowhere to put them they end up abandoning them in parks."

With this recent incident, she tells me there is a need for change in how people who run cockfighing rings are punished.

Cockfighting is a felony in about 40 other states and Washington D.C.