NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — Police have seized nearly 400 chickens and roosters from what they’re calling an illegal cockfighting operation on a western Massachusetts farm.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette says the birds were removed from a barn at Ravenwold Greenhouses in Northampton by police and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Friday.

Animal control officers discovered signs of cockfighting during a barn inspection, including a large number of roosters, gloves used during fights and a bag of medication commonly used to cockfight. Other hints included roosters with sharpened spurs and an area with blood splatters. State law prohibits anyone from training animals for cockfighting. The farm’s owner says he rented the space to another person and had never been inside.


Police continue to investigate the alleged operation. No suspects have been arrested.