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Officials in Lancaster confiscated more than 1,000 fowls they believed were being used for illegal cockfighting, authorities announced on Wednesday.

A woman holds a rooster in Lancaster, where the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said more than 1,000 birds were seized on April 9, 2018 during an animal cruelty investigation.
A woman holds a rooster in Lancaster, where the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said more than 1,000 birds were seized on April 9, 2018 during an animal cruelty investigation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it served a search warrant on a location on the 6300 block of East Avenue E on Monday. Officers were investigating an animal cruelty case concerning the breeding and fighting of game fowl.

Crews from the L.A. County Department of Animal Care and Control, with help from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, examined the animals at the scene and confiscated them.

“Rooster handlers, or ‘cock fighters,’ often allow birds who suffer injuries during fights to go untreated or throw the birds in the trash,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “Having animals fight to death along with letting them go untreated is not only cruel but often times goes hand-in-hand with gambling, drug-dealing and other illegal activities.”

Although several individuals were detained and questioned, no arrests have been made, according to the agency.

Rescue personnel seize birds in Lancaster on April 9, 2018. (Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)
Rescue personnel seize birds in Lancaster on April 9, 2018. (Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

Authorities provided no further details.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Department’s community partnerships bureau at 323-981-5300. Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), using the mobile app “P3 Tips” or visiting lacrimestoppers.org.