The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance Tuesday to limit the number of roosters per household after one of the largest cockfighting rings in the country was taken down in Val Verde last year.

Since then, Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Sheila Kuehl proposed a motion for the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control to report back with a recommendation to limit the keeping of roosters.

The board approved an ordinance that limits the amount of roosters residents can own based on the size of their property in unincorporated Los Angeles County, which includes Castaic, Val Verde and Stevenson Ranch.

This action was taken to curtail ongoing problems with illegal cockfighting and associated criminal activities, improve quality of life for residents and reduce complaints of noise and odor associated with keeping large numbers of roosters, according to county officials.

“We are so pleased that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have taken this important step to protect animal welfare and public safety, and that animals of Los Angeles County will be safer as a result of this ordinance,” said Marcia Mayeda, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

The ordinance states that residents living in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles can have two roosters if they own half an acre or less; four roosters if residents own a half to one acre; six roosters if residents own between one and five acres; and 10 roosters if residents own five or more acres.

Rooster owners who wish to exceed the number of allowed roosters may apply for an animal facility license, which is set to cost $25 and require an annual property inspection.      

The keeping of hens is not regulated by this ordinance, according to county officials.

The ordinance was passed a little more than a year after the largest cockfighting ring bust in U.S. history was uncovered in Val Verde.  

See Related: Val Verde Cockfighting Ring Largest In U.S. History; 7,000 Birds Recovered

In May 2017, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials, along with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, recovered more than 7,000 roosters from an illegal cockfighting ring in Val Verde.

Dead birds were also found on the property with injuries consistent with cockfighting, and investigators also found “slasher” weapons — which are strapped to the rooster’s claws during fights — at the location.

Due to the aggression of the fighting birds, officials with the Department of Animal Care and Control said they would all be euthanized.

The ordinance is set to go into effect by the end of 2018, according to county officials.

However, complaints regarding noise, unsanitary conditions and animal abuse or neglect will be immediately enforced.  Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, officials are expected to begin enforcing the rooster limits.

Rooster owners who wish to apply for an animal facility license may call the Department of Animal Care and Control Business Licensing Division at (562) 345-0323.

For more information on the rooster ordinance, click here.

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