So sad to not be able to own game roosters
N.J. man charged after 200-plus fighting roosters found on farm
By SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI Gannett/The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post March 29, 2010
Comments (12) Recommend Print this page E-mail this article Share Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A MONROE, N.J. A Cherry Hill man has been arrested and charged with 422 counts of animal cruelty after the New Jersey SPCA uncovered more than 200 fighting roosters on his farm property in Williamstown, N.J.Williamstown.
Julius Caesar Riel, 55, raised the birds in tepee-shaped huts on his property in the 1300 block of Coles Mill Road, along with 129 hens, 11 dogs, three goats and several other animals. The birds were euthanized, along with a goat and eight dogs that were undernourished, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Matt Stanton, spokesman for the NJSPCA, said there is no evidence that Riel was staging fights on the property, but possessing a fighting bird in New Jersey is illegal.
Riel was shipping the birds out of the country to the Philippines, Stanton said, and was part of a network that involves several surrounding states.
Riel was charged Saturday with 200 criminal and civil counts of owning, possessing and training animals with the intent to be used for fighting. He was also charged with 11 counts each of criminal and civil failure to provide sustenance for eight dogs and three goats.
He is being held on $150,000 bail in the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury.
The case developed from an anonymous tip made three weeks ago, Stanton said, and officers from the NJSPCA's Major Crimes Unit did the investigation and surveillance. Saturday morning's raid was assisted by the Gloucester County Animal Control, Monroe police and the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management. Stanton said the raid included a veterinarian, who performed the euthanizations.
On Sunday, the gate in front of the ramshackle house was padlocked with a warrant notice lying on the ground. A black car was parked in the dirt driveway.
Several long coops, a few rows of triangular huts and several half-moon shaped coops can be seen from the road. On Sunday, a handful of chickens were in the yard. An occasional rooster crow could be heard from the backyard.
Stanton said the hens left on the property can be sold by the owner or transferred to the NJSPCA.
Stanton said some caretakers were living at the property but were not charged as part of the case.
Rooster fighting is more common in urban areas, Stanton said, but the organization deals with about four cases of rooster breeding a year.
N.J. man charged after 200-plus fighting roosters found on farm
By SHRUTI MATHUR DESAI Gannett/The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post March 29, 2010
Comments (12) Recommend Print this page E-mail this article Share Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A MONROE, N.J. A Cherry Hill man has been arrested and charged with 422 counts of animal cruelty after the New Jersey SPCA uncovered more than 200 fighting roosters on his farm property in Williamstown, N.J.Williamstown.
Julius Caesar Riel, 55, raised the birds in tepee-shaped huts on his property in the 1300 block of Coles Mill Road, along with 129 hens, 11 dogs, three goats and several other animals. The birds were euthanized, along with a goat and eight dogs that were undernourished, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Matt Stanton, spokesman for the NJSPCA, said there is no evidence that Riel was staging fights on the property, but possessing a fighting bird in New Jersey is illegal.
Riel was shipping the birds out of the country to the Philippines, Stanton said, and was part of a network that involves several surrounding states.
Riel was charged Saturday with 200 criminal and civil counts of owning, possessing and training animals with the intent to be used for fighting. He was also charged with 11 counts each of criminal and civil failure to provide sustenance for eight dogs and three goats.
He is being held on $150,000 bail in the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury.
The case developed from an anonymous tip made three weeks ago, Stanton said, and officers from the NJSPCA's Major Crimes Unit did the investigation and surveillance. Saturday morning's raid was assisted by the Gloucester County Animal Control, Monroe police and the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management. Stanton said the raid included a veterinarian, who performed the euthanizations.
On Sunday, the gate in front of the ramshackle house was padlocked with a warrant notice lying on the ground. A black car was parked in the dirt driveway.
Several long coops, a few rows of triangular huts and several half-moon shaped coops can be seen from the road. On Sunday, a handful of chickens were in the yard. An occasional rooster crow could be heard from the backyard.
Stanton said the hens left on the property can be sold by the owner or transferred to the NJSPCA.
Stanton said some caretakers were living at the property but were not charged as part of the case.
Rooster fighting is more common in urban areas, Stanton said, but the organization deals with about four cases of rooster breeding a year.
