Lee County deputies dismantle 2 suspected cockfighting operations, remove 136 birds

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Lee County deputies say they uncovered and dismantled two suspected cockfighting operations over the weekend, resulting in one arrest and a second person being charged with animal cruelty.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office responded Friday to a fully engulfed mobile home trailer on Westwood Acres Road. While clearing the property, deputies discovered multiple roosters, a fighting ring and what the sheriff's office described as evidence of a cockfighting operation.

“There is no place for animal cruelty in Lee County, and we will not tolerate the abuse and exploitation of animals for the purpose of cockfighting,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement posted to Facebook.

“These operations are not only cruel, but they put animals through unimaginable suffering,” he said.

During the execution of a search warrant, deputies said they found boxing gloves, B12 injections and several injured roosters. About 83 birds were removed from the scene, according to the sheriff's office.

Raul Cartaya Ramos, the owner of the property, was arrested on a charge of animal cruelty involving the sale, use or possession of animals for fighting or baiting, according to LCSO.

In a separate incident Sunday, LCSO deputies were called to assist an animal control officer after a possible cockfighting operation was discovered in the backyard of a home on Nashville Avenue S in Lehigh Acres.

Deputies said they found multiple injured roosters housed in separate enclosures consistent with cockfighting, along with evidence of a training area, sparring muffs, a dummy chicken and used syringes.

Fifty-three birds were removed from the home, according to LCSO.

The homeowner, Yelandis Rodriguez Hernandez, was charged with animal cruelty involving the sale, use or possession of animals for fighting or baiting, according to the sheriff's office.