Animal News

Dallas law agencies make big bust on cockfight in southeast Dallas

Dallas police make a big bust.

Photo courtesy of the SPCA

On July 2, three Dallas agencies busted up a cockfight and seized a large number of roosters. The seizure was made by the SPCA of Texas, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office's Animal Cruelty Unit, and the Dallas Police Department, who took custody of 53 fighting roosters from a southeast Dallas cockfight.

Additionally, 32 deceased birds were found on the property.

Dallas Police Department officers were in a police helicopter on another assignment when they spotted the fight in the air. They contacted the SPCA of Texas, then broke up the cockfight in progress.

Eight people were detained and charged with class C misdemeanors for being spectators. Many others fled the scene on foot.

A search warrant was also served to search all of the vehicles on the property. This investigation turned up substantial evidence, and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office's Animal Cruelty Unit and the SPCA of Texas expect to issue arrest warrants for state jail felonies for cockfighting to several of them.

The birds were found in transport boxes, wire cages, and tethered to trees, bushes, and vehicles on the property. Dead roosters were found all over the property, some in garbage bags, others on the ground and in bushes among beer cans and other trash.

Some of the live birds appear to have feather loss and various injuries.

The SPCA of Texas loaded the animals for transport and took them to a secure location to provide the live birds with medical treatment and care until the custody hearing can take place.

The hearing will take place on July 7 at 11 am at the Dallas County Government Center Precinct 1, Place 2 courthouse located at 107 Texas St., Lancaster, with the Honorable Valencia Nash presiding.

Cockfighting is a crime in all 50 states, including Texas, where it is a felony, punishable by up to two years in a state jail and/or up to a $10,000 fine, to cause birds to fight with one another and/or to use property for the purpose of cockfighting.

In Texas, it is also a Class A misdemeanor to possess, manufacture, or sell cockfighting paraphernalia; a Class A misdemeanor to own or train a rooster with the intent to fight the bird; and a Class C misdemeanor to be a spectator at a cockfight. Federal law prohibits any interstate or foreign transport of fighting animals.

city-news-roundup

E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

politics