Overview
- Law enforcement interrupted an active cockfight late Saturday after a tip and executed a search warrant at a building on the 500 block of Franklin Street in Chester.
- Officers arrested 25 people at the scene and recovered 52 live birds plus three dead roosters, according to the Pennsylvania SPCA.
- The Pennsylvania SPCA transported the surviving birds to its Philadelphia headquarters for examination and treatment and will hold them pending owner surrender or court decisions.
- Nicole Wilson of the PSPCA described cockfighting as one of the most brutal forms of animal cruelty, and the agency said the case will be pursued under Pennsylvania felony laws that ban the practice.
- The investigation is active and the PSPCA is asking anyone with information to call its hotline at 866-601-SPCA as prosecutors determine next steps for charges and possible prosecutions.