Police find 219 birds in Indianapolis cockfighting investigation

The Indiana Gaming Commission broke up on Friday what is believed to be a cockfighting operation involving more than 200 birds on the city's south side.

Police and gaming officials arrived at a home in the 1700 block of East Gimber Street around 4:40 a.m. Friday. They arrested one man and removed one other adult and three children.

Jennifer Reske, deputy director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, said investigators expected to find 100 to 150 birds when they executed the search warrant. Instead, they found 219.

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She called the situation "highly unusual." Usually, such operations are on rural properties.

"We've never conducted an investigation into cockfighting in an urban area," Reske said. "Until now."

She said the investigation was prompted by a call about noise in the neighborhood of closely situated homes. The roosters' crowing could be heard outside of the property.

Reske said there was a mix of roosters and hens on the property. She said the investigations echoed what they've found in other cockfighting investigations — a large number of birds that are surgically altered to enable people to attach knives, daggers or picks to them and medication meant to make birds aggressive before a fight.

The birds were being removed one at a time Friday morning, with each being placed in a separate box. Reske said the birds will be evaluated and that many of them may need to be euthanized.

Kathryn Destreza, director of investigations for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the roosters and hens were kept in coops with a minimum of food and water. In those situations, she said diseases can be prevalent. The birds engaged in fights that lead to death.

Destreza said cockfighting is a problem all over the United States.

"It's common everywhere," she said, "in Indiana and every other state."

The ASPCA, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana State Police and Animal Control assisted gaming officials Friday with executing the search warrant.

The Marion County prosecutor's office could not immediately be reached for comment on what, if any, criminal charges have been filed relating to the case.

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Call IndyStar reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.