On May 31, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department made several arrests near Country Club Road and Old Vail, Tucson, Arizona following reports of cockfighting at a property. Authorities were able to recover around 150 animals including 80 birds, 20 roosters, two dogs, and a tortoise.
The twenty roosters are now up for adoption at the Pima Animal Care Center (PACC).
Kayleigh Murdock of PACC stated, “Cockfighting is a sign of animal cruelty, essentially where people will pit two roosters against each other in a fight. They often end in death. It’s a really serious form of animal cruelty.”

PACC said that they are confident that the roosters can still make for great pets despite their history. According to Murdock, the birds were surprisingly in great condition when they arrived at the facility.
“Roosters that have come from fighting rings are animals that can absolutely become pets that can fit well into a home or farm situation. They just need a little bit of time to be rehabilitated,” said Murdock.
The PACC has already found homes for the birds, dogs, and the tortoise, but the roosters have yet to find homes.
“There may be some belief that, you know these roosters because of the situations that they came from, won’t be good pets, but it’s really not true. We have adopted out roosters from cockfighting rings in the past, as have organizations across the country, they can go into homes and be great pets – they just need to be kept separate from other roosters,” stated Murdock.