Canada's 'largest-ever' cockfighting ring busted

Animal welfare officials say as many as 37 people could be facing charges after police raided a B.C. operation that animal welfare officials are describing as Canada's largest-ever cockfighting ring.

The Surrey ring, raided earlier this week, may have been operating for the past three or four years, officials from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) told a news conference in Vancouver Friday.

Some of the 1,270 fighting birds found on three separate properties in the Cloverdale area of Surrey were fed steroids and kept in a perpetual state of excitement.

Birds had missing eyes, infected cuts.

They were kept tethered to barrels and several were suffering from injuries such as infected cuts, missing eyes and head wounds.

They found two fighting pits on two properties, as well as a wide variety of cock fighting paraphernalia, including curved metal spurs used to slash opponents, score cards, syringes and a feathered mock-up bird on the end of a stick.

"The most horrific part of the warrant was having to euthanize every single one of the roosters on the property,'' said Shawn Eccles, BCSPCA Chief Animal Prevention Officer. It took 13 hours to complete the process, he said.