Oscar Ralda
Suffolk police arrested a Bay Shore man on Wednesday for owning and training roosters to fight.
Oscar Ralda, 40, was found to have two dozen roosters in separate cages with their waddles and cones removed, an indication that the animals were being used for fighting, following a search of his South Cardinal Court home on Oct. 22, police said.
Third Precinct officers and agents with the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) raided the home along with investigators from the Town of Islip. They also found spurs, scales, hypodermic needles and performance-enhancing drugs, police said.
Ralda turned himself into the 3rd Precinct where detectives charged him with owning or keeping an animal for the purpose of fighting and training an animal to fight. He will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday.
