SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – A recent court order ordered the euthanasia of 25 birds.
The birds were kept by Santa Cruz Animal Services.
Today, at least three animal rescue groups tried to seek help, offering to care for the birds and give them a safe home.
At the courthouse they learned that the county had hastily killed the birds yesterday.
The killing order was issued in the court ruling on Wednesday.
The judge declared the appeal to be irrelevant and immediately rejected the application because the birds were already dead.
“Hen Harbor and Rooster Sanctuary and our attorney came and we were immediately told that the birds had been euthanized,” Ariana Huemer Hen Harbor said. “They knew there was a stay of execution hearing today, they knew they had spoken directly to us and our attorneys, and they knew we had requested a stay of execution, and they still killed them all yesterday.”
The birds were fighting cocks that, according to animal welfare groups, could have been saved by relocating them to protected areas.
“It’s devastating and horrific and shocking and it’s baffling why they’re killing these animals when there’s a viable alternative for them,” Huemer said. “Five shelters have been ordered to impound.”
The public prosecutor ordered the killing of the birds.
They justified this with a lack of funds for their maintenance.
They also described the former fighting cocks as dangerous, but animal rights activists disagree.
“There’s no way that animal control seriously believes a bird like this poses a threat to the public,” Huemer said. “He’s been handling the kids regularly, he goes to SPCA camp every summer and the kids love him. People love them, the adopters really love them and the kids at SPCA camp love them every summer.”
“They’re not, you know, dangerous. You can see that people can handle them, no one’s eyes are being gouged out,” said Christine Kelly, an animal rights lawyer. said. “No child will be hurt, you know, they don’t plan to kill everyone.”
The Rooster Sanctuary had tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the killing of the birds.
They argued that the county would not be prejudiced by keeping the birds alive until a motion to reopen the case could be heard.
Santa Cruz Animal Services lawyers argued for the killing of all fighting cocks, which inevitably happened.
The reason the decision was overturned is because the county had already killed the birds,” Kelly said. “I asked her not to kill the birds and to wait and wait to kill the birds until we hear a motion on the matter, but she said it was overturned because they were dead.”
I have asked both the SCAS and the Public Prosecution Service for a statement, but I have not yet received a response from either side.
