Deputies in Florida pulled over 100 birds from two active cockfighting rings, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
The first bust happened Friday, August 21, 2026, after a mobile home caught fire on Westwood Acres Road in Fort Myers. When deputies started clearing out the property, they ran into a fighting ring, dozens of roosters, and other signs that cockfighting was going on.
Once investigators had a search warrant, they combed through the home. Inside, they found boxing gloves, B12 injections, and several roosters with fresh injuries. Animal control removed 83 birds in total. The homeowner, Raul Cartaya Ramos, faces charges of animal cruelty.
The second case unfolded Sunday after deputies came to back up an animal control officer on Nashville Avenue South in Lehigh Acres. They uncovered injured roosters in separate enclosures, clear evidence of another cockfighting setup. Investigators also found training equipment, sparring muffs, a dummy chicken, and used syringes. This time, animal control took 53 birds, and deputies arrested homeowner Yelandis Rodriguez Hernandez, charging him with animal cruelty.
“There’s no room for animal cruelty in Lee County. We don’t tolerate abuse or exploitation. Cockfighting puts animals through torture, and it has to stop,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
