25 Arrested At Delco Cockfight; Dead Roosters, Live Birds Recovered: Officials

CHESTER, PA — Twenty-five people were arrested after multiple police agencies interrupted a cockfight Saturday night in Chester, authorities said.

Police raided a property on the 500 block of Franklin Street, where they found 52 live chickens and three dead roosters, according to the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Two days earlier, PSPCA's Animal Law Enforcement received a tip that a cockfight would take place there. While surveilling the property, seeing several people entering and exiting, including people with animal-transport carriers, authorities said.

PSPCA officers secured a search warrant. Several other law-enforcement agencies helped them execute it because of the number of people at the cockfight, the PSPCA said.

Police entered the property Saturday evening, interrupting an active cockfight and arresting 25 suspects, the PSPCA said.

State Police, Chester Police and Central Delaware County Tactical Response helped PSPCA officers with the operation.

No suspect names or specific charges were shared, but the PSPCA says cockfighting is a felony in Pennsylvania.

"Cockfighting is one of the most brutal forms of animal cruelty," said Nicole Wilson, the PSPCA's director of Animal Law Enforcement. "These birds are forced to fight to near death one cut at a time, suffering devastating injuries in the process."

The live birds were brought to the PSPCA's Philadelphia headquarters for veterinary care.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about this case or other cases of animal cruelty can call the PSPCA's Cruelty Hotline at 866-601-SPCA or email cruelty@pspca.org. Tips can be anonymous.