Fighting roosters found on New Jersey farm

MONROE, NJ The roosters were discovered by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Fifty-five-year-old Julius Caesar Riel housed the birds in tepee-shaped huts, along with 129 hens, 11 dogs, three goats and several other animals.

NJSPCA spokesman Matt Stanton says there is no evidence that Riel staged fights on the property but the group believes he was shipping the birds out of the country to the Philippines.

In New Jersey, merely possessing a fighting bird in New Jersey is illegal.

The birds were euthanized, along with a goat and eight dogs that were undernourished.

Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.