So, About That Cockfighting Ring In Bushwick…
We somehow glossed over it yesterday, but yeesh, this Post article about the massive city-wide cockfighting bust is a rough read.
Apparently, the NYPD seized more than 3,000 birds from venues in Ulster County, Queens, and Brooklyn, and also arrested the 74-year-old owner of a Bushwick pet store suspected of hosting fights, along with eight other men. It was reportedly the state’s biggest-ever bust, and also turned up weapons that would be attached to the birds, as well as syringes for injecting them with performance-enhancing drugs.
ASPCA’s president told the Daily News, “It’s very difficult to know the scope of the problem because this is an underground activity. You have drugs and gambling and prostitution and guns and gangs involved. I can’t tell you how many there are exactly. But this is not the only cockfighting ring in New York City.”
A horrifying new thing to keep in mind, to be sure. The only bright spot here? The NYPD sting was called “Operation Angry Birds.”
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.