About 66 sheriff's deputies and volunteers raided four sites just before dawn.
By Jayne Hustead staff
writer
March 11, 2004
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Filthy ground covered
with chicken droppings may have combined with wind, dust and cold weather to
sicken a small number of those who helped with the recent rooster roundup in
Fellsmere.
But they do not have avian flu, Jean Kline, administrator of the
Indian River County Health Department, said Wednesday. Late last month, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office,
together with the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, and the
Humane Society of the United States launched a crackdown on alleged cockfighting
operations in the county. About 66 sheriff's deputies and volunteers of the two societies
raided four sites just before dawn. Five men were arrested and charged with
felonies ranging from possession of cockfighting paraphernalia to fighting or
baiting animals and animal cruelty.
Two to three days later, a few volunteers who handled the birds
complained of sore throat, headache and fever, Kline said. The department was
able to reach 64 of the people. Of those, five or six were placed on antibiotics
for bacterial infections.
But the illness "doesn't even look like human influenza," much
less avian influenza. The latter is "not even on the radar," Kline said.
Nonetheless, the department is continuing to look into the illness
to identify the organisms responsible for the infections.
Also, the U.S. Department of Agricultural is doing standard avian
blood panels on the birds that look for venereal disease, Newcastle disease and
avian flu, among a host of other diseases, according to Elke Daniel, a field
investigator with the local Humane Society.
About 800 birds were tagged and transported to the society's
facility on 77th Street, where they are being cared for by volunteers until the
courts rule on their disposition, care or treatment, said Michael Vito, attorney
for the Sheriff's Office.
That could take 45 days or more, Daniel said.
One of the men arrested, Charles "Buck" Raulerson, 51, has been
ordered to humanely care for an additional 900 to 1,000 birds found on his
property at his own expense. Florida law allows a law-enforcement officer or
agent of an organization for the prevention of cruelty to animals to order such
care, pending a civil hearing on whether the owner is fit to keep the animals,
Vito said.
A criminal hearing also likely will be held on the appropriate
care and disposition of the birds, Vito noted.
Once the court proceedings are done, the birds likely will be
euthanized.
"They have no food value," Vito said. "They can't be eaten because
they typically are injected with performance-enhancing drugs, including
steroids, growth hormones and the like."
"They also are as tough as the tire on your car," he said.
Also arrested during the bust were Antonio Lopez, 43, Antonio
Lopez Jr., 21, Willis Lamar Wilson, 58, and Danny N. Proffitt, 33.
The five men are scheduled for arraignment April 2.
Source: http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/article/0,1651,TCP_16736_2720561,00.html