NEW YORK -- New York's attorney general says more than 3,000 birds were rescued in a three-county cockfighting takedown that resulted in nine felony arrests.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called this weekend's bust the largest rescue of fighting roosters in New York history. He said at one event, 70 people were taken into custody.

Schneiderman says the gamecocks were bred, trained and administered performance-enhancing drugs, had razor-sharp gaffs attached in place of their spurs and were locked in pens to be wagered on.

The seizures occurred in Queens, Brooklyn and Ulster County. Schneiderman says the cockfights were located inside secret basements where spectators were charged admission fees and were sold alcohol.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has established a temporary shelter to house and care for the animals.