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Four men cruising through Colorado last week with a Dodge SUV full of fighting cocks probably didn’t know that they would be facing some of the nation’s toughest laws against cockfighting if they got caught.
The four men — Dang Vang, 23; Billy Thao, 21; Sieng Vang, 24; Ma Veng, 24 — were pulled over on Friday, March 14, heading eastbound on I-70 from California to their home in Minnesota, by state troopers in Jefferson County, who discovered the 27 birds caged in the backseat.
The four men were arrested and charged with animal fighting, a class 5 felony in the state of Colorado.
For now, the birds are being housed in Golden. But in all likelihood they will have to be destroyed because of the violent tendencies of fighting cocks.
— Luke Turf