ANONYMOUS TIP LEADS TO RAID OF SUSPECTED COCKFIGHTING OPERATION IN WESTERN WAYNE COUNTY TOWN

A Fort Gay man is facing charges after being accused of forcing roosters to fight to the death for profit and entertainment.  An anonymous tip led to a raid at a suspected cockfighting operation in Wayne County, West Virginia near Ft. Gay.

Huntington Cabell Wayne Humane Officers, as well as the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, raided a property in the 2000 block of state Route 37 in Fort Gay on Tuesday April 12, where birds that are suspected to have been =used for cockfighting were bred and housed, and police stated. They found evidence of a cockfighting operation.

Police arrested the suspect, 30-year-old Dustin Lee Smith, of Fort Gay, and charged him with 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one count of felony drug possession. More charges could be filed.

Law enforcement officials said they found 131 live roosters and hens and three dead game cocks stuffed in a bag, were found on the suspect’s property according to the Cabell Wayne Animal Control Shelter. 

According to the criminal complaint, investigators took five live gamecocks with injuries that appear to be consistent with cockfighting.

Deputies say they also found thousands of dollars worth of cockfighting equipment, including knives, gaffs and other equipment associated with cockfighting, and also numerous cockfighting trophies.

Smith bonded out of the Western Regional Jail in Barboursville in Cabell County on Wednesday.

“Cockfighting is an inhumane blood sport that we are working hard to eradicate in West Virginia. Thankfully, our state legislature recently passed a bill to crack down on this activity by significantly increasing fines for participating in or attending an animal fight and enacting felony-level penalties for repeat offenders,” Heather Severt, West Virginia state director for The HSUS, said.  “We appreciate the investigative work of the Huntington Cabell Wayne Humane Officers and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office’s quick and efficient action to shut down this suspected cockfighting operation.”