750 Roosters Found at Alleged Cockfighting Training Center

Two men were charged for allegedly training chickens to fight

Two Joliet men were arrested Tuesday morning after Will County Sheriff’s Police and Animal Control received a tip that roosters were being trained for cockfighting at a Homer Glen farm.

Gerardo Ortiz, 32, of the 500 block of Chase Avenue and Ramiro Marin, 50, of the 200 block of Anderson Avenue were arrested on charges of animal cruelty and owning an animal for sport fighting, according to the Chicago Tribune.

About 750 roosters were discovered on a Homer Glen farm, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. All of them will have to be euthanized, said Animal Control Administrator LeRoy Schild.

Police spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer told the Tribune investigators found “evidence of extensive training and grooming” on the property, but there was not enough sufficient evidence of cockfighting.

Cockfighting is illegal in all states, except for Louisiana.

Ortiz and Marin men were scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday.

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