Allegan County Sheriff’s authorities are treating allegations of cock fighting in Hopkins Township with caution.
Representatives from Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) based in Illinois, have insisted they recorded a video July 26 of the illegal activity. They said their drone footage shows barely moving roosters being struck violently and thrown into a wheelbarrow.
Steve Hindi, president of SHARK, told News 8, “We got information about a cockfight that was going to happen outside of Hopkins,”so he and his team videotaped activities on the site.
No criminal charges have been filed yet in connection with the case.
Cockfighting in general carries a felony of up to four years in prison in Michigan. Hindi alleged some employees of the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office knew about the troubled home, but did not act on the allegations.
Neighbor Isaac VandenToorn said, “I was literally in contact with police that weekend to try to set up an operation to bust them”
Cockfighting, illegal in the United States, occurs when people set roosters, often with knife-like objects tied to their legs, to fight to the death.
VandenToorn said cockfights and other animal neglect at his neighbor’s home have been going on for years.
He said,. “I initially contacted animal control about it. They said they did a search, but said they couldn’t find any of the razor blades in their spurs to attack and kill each other.
“And there wasn’t a lot they could do.”
Hindi told the Detroit Free Press, “Exes of cockfighters send in tips … perhaps spouses upset that a partner is blowing the mortgage money on cockfights, or they’re incapable of feeding the kids.
“Unhappy neighbors or relatives who don’t want family involved hurt or killed” also aid in their investigations.”
Allegan County Undersheriff Michael Larsen promised that a criminal and internal investigation will take place.
“The initial response was not what we had hoped for, and we are following through with a proper and thorough investigation” he said.
SHARK and Animal Wellness representatives said they contacted the Allegan County Sheriff’s office multiple times July 26, but were told that “they didn’t have enough officers to respond,” and have known about the “illegal cockfighting pit for a couple weeks now.”
Hindi told News Channel 3, Kalamazoo, that not only do those participating in cockfighting have financial incentives, but that they enjoy watching animal cruelty.
“There are people who are addicted to animal cruelty, to the blood, to the suffering, to the death,” he said
