BENNETT, Colo. — A rooster sanctuary on the Eastern Plains took in fighting roosters seized in Eagle County as part of a drug bust.
The Eagle County Sheriff's Office found 17 roosters along with narcotics during a traffic stop last month. They also found blades and equipment used in rooster fighting.
"Most people don't know that the game roosters are really, really easy to handle," said Jewel Johnson, founder of Rooster Sanctuary at Danzig's Roost.
She said typically roosters she's seen taken from fighting rings are strong, healthy and calm around humans as those are the types of birds suspects would use the most in fights.
Eagle County contacted the rooster sanctuary to take in the 17 birds they seized. It's an encouraging trend, according to Johnson, that not a single bird was euthanized before given a shot at a second chance.
In the last decade she'd taken in roosters seized from fighting rings, she said that is certainly not always the case.
"They come up with the same excuses over and over and over again. It's 'health and behavior, health and behavior," she said of rational she's heard from other jurisdictions. "I have yet to see any of that come to fruition with any of the groups that I've taken in."
The sanctuary is located in Adams County.
"There's been a couple seizures in this county and we have not been asked to take in any of the roosters," said Johnson.
Denver7 checked in with Adams County. They said since 2024, there have been 2 cases of fighting roosters being seized.
In one of the cases, details cannot be disclosed because there are ongoing court proceedings.
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Sanctuary rescues fighting roosters
According to Adams County, the second case resulted in the seizure of 39 birds. They said, typically, the Bureau of Animal Protection (BAP) is involved on scene for veterinarian evaluation. However, for some reason, BAP was not available in this second case so several birds were euthanized. The county cited medical or behavioral reasons.
The county reports in 2024, 142 birds from those two cases were taken to the Riverdale Animal Shelter and 111 were adopted.
Johnson hopes the sanctuary can be a resource for law enforcement across the state and said the fighting roosters she just took in from Eagle County are doing great.
"They respond quickly to positive interaction and routine, and they're the most predictable roosters that we've ever had," she said.
Johnson suggests better training, patience and education about birds would go a long way when law enforcement responds to cases involving fighting roosters.
