Missing the obvious

Cockfighting takes place in Texas, and it obviously happens in San Antonio, too.

SAN ANTONIO -- The Bexar County Sheriff's Office and San Antonio Animal Care Services have busted what they're calling a cockfighting operation.

Deputies discovered the illegal gambling Sunday morning on a property located in the 15900 block of Henze Road on the city's Southeast side.

A total of 60 roosters were seized by Animal Care Services and the Sheriff's Office, said Lisa Norwood, a spokeswoman for ACS. Norwood said the property where the birds were found had a covered arena where the birds were forced to fight in a ring for money.

(from KSAT-12)

But the presence of the cockfighting ring is not what really caught my eye as unusual. No, that was what the ACS spokeswoman had to say about the fates of these yardbirds gone bad.

Norwood said none of the surviving birds are likely to live much longer because they are too dangerous and will have to be euthanized.

"These animals are bred to fight; they're bred to kill," Norwood said. "Unless you can find an organization that's willing to take these animals in, house them individually for the rest of their lives, there's not really much you can do in terms of rehoming fighting roosters." [emphasis added]

Ummm, can we eat them? I mean, they may be ornery, but they are still chickens, right? They're not dogs or cats that you can adopt out, and people around here already find chickens do quite well in fryers, on grills, and in the oven instead of just in coops. So, why bother "rehoming" them? Maybe they don't need a home at all, and maybe they can do just as well in another place. Some place that could be a haven, so to speak.