Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Armed Cock kills man in CA.

By Bart Jackson, Vancouver Sun  
February 8, 2011 12:02 PM
Fighting cocks. 
 An angry bird has killed a spectator in California.
The cock, wearing a razor sharp knife, sliced a man in the leg. Thirty-five-year-old Jose Luis Ochoa was taken to the ER and succumbed to his injuries about two hours later, the Bakersfield Californian reported.
The cause of death was a severe injury to the man's right calf, an autopsy report said Wednesday.
Cockfights, illegal in California, features blade arrayed roosters that are goaded to attack each other. The fights, which attract wagers from spectators, often end in the death of one of the birds.
"I have never seen this type of incident," Sgt. Martin King, a 24-year veteran of the Kern County Sheriff's Dept. told the Californian. "People have been known to bleed out from those injuries if medical attention is not obtained immediately."
The officer said the doomed Ochoa and others made a hasty retreat from the cockfight arena when police arrived on the scene.
Humane society executive John Goodwin said a main reason for cockfighting's continuance in the state is the lenient law. Cockfights, raising the birds and watching the fights are misdemeanors.
The fights lure spectators from several neighboring states where the practice is a felony.
Goodwin told the paper that the bettors' pot in even a small cockfight can reach $10,000. "The money adds up fast, and that's why we need strong penalties," Goodwin said. "For a law to be a deterrent, the penalty has to be greater than the gain of breaking the law."
The blade-bearing roosters often fight while hopped up on antibiotics and steroids.More...

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...