Over 20,000 roosters died over 18 year span in S.C. cockfighting matches

Image by Flickr user gregoryperez

In documents that surfaced Tuesday just before the sentencing of convicted cockfighting operator Jimmy Collins, investigators have found that more than 20,000 roosters fought to the death over almost two decades at a secret South Carolina cockfighting arena.

To be more exact, each year for 18 years straight, about 1,130 birds fought to the death in the secret Swansea cockfighting arena located just 20 miles south of Columbia. That's approximately 20,340 birds in all.

According to The State:

Federal prosecutors had hoped to use the extensiveness of the cockfighting operation to convince U.S. Judge Cameron Curry to give Collins more than two years in prison. But the 21 months Collins got was the least amount of time he was eligible for under federal guidelines. She also gave him a $5,000 fine.

Twenty-one South Carolina residents have been indicted on federal charges as a result of a 13-month undercover investigation into cockfighting. Of the 19 sentence so far, only one other cockfighting arena operator has received a 21-month sentence.

For more on the cockfighting rulings and statistics, click over to the article in The State.

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