Police: Cheering Men Lead To ‘Professional’ Cockfighting Operation

A large group of cheering men in a rural part of Polk County led to the arrests of 17 men on suspicion they were taking part in a cockfighting operation described as “very professional” by the county sheriff.

Officers raided a rural area of Polk County Monday and found a massive grave of freshly killed roosters, drawers full of sharp fighting spurs for birds and $25,000 in cash.

A bloody fighting box where the roosters apparently fought to the death was also found at the scene, police said.

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Two of the 17 men captured and arrested were from Orlando; Oscar Herrara, 36, and Jose Herrara, 40, according to police. One of the men had a hat on that said “cockfighting.”

Near the grave of rooster corpses, officers found seven badly scarred birds still alive. They were euthanized, the report said.

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[Editor’s Note: A video of this story can be seen here. A slideshow of photos can be seen here.]