Alleged cockfighting ring busted in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Authorities have seized dozens of chickens from a Jacksonville home in an alleged cockfighting ring.

Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services spokesman Jim Crosby tells local media that several agencies responded Tuesday night to a home in the Dinsmore neighborhood and seized 51 birds.

Crosby says animal control officers found fighting paraphernalia at the scene, including injectable steroids and knives that are strapped on the birds’ legs so they can do more damage during fights.

Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies arrested 38-year-old Timothy Prosser at the scene on a felony animal fighting charge. Crosby says Prosser was “peripherally involved” in a cockfighting case several years ago.

No dead birds were found in the home. Crosby says the birds will be evaluated Wednesday by veterinarians.

It’s unclear if Prosser has an attorney.