Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Two men have been arrested and 169 birds were seized in what authorities claim was the raid of a cockfighting ring in rural Douglas County.

Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern announced the arrests Tuesday. He says about 60 law enforcement and animal control officers removed 118 gamecocks, 48 hens and three chicks from a 2-acre property south of Eudora.

Prosecutors charged 44-year-old Ezequiel Olivas with three counts of conducting cockfighting and one charge of possessing cockfighting paraphernalia. They plan to charge a 40-year-old man Wednesday.

Olivas becomes the first person charged with felony cockfighting in Kansas. The state made it a felony in July, but the activity is illegal in all states.