A 29-year-old man is facing 11 felony charges after Chicago police say they found a rooster missing its comb, wattle and spurs stashed inside a Lawndale workplace, evidence investigators tied to an illegal cockfighting operation. Ezequiel Carillo Nava was taken into custody Thursday following a month-long investigation by the Chicago Police Department’s Animal Crimes Investigation Team.
According to a statement from the Chicago Police Department, the probe began after an anonymous tip came into the department in early August. That tip led investigators to a business in the 4000 block of West Roosevelt Road in Lawndale, where Carillo Nava allegedly kept roosters on site. Officers say they gathered both digital and physical evidence linking him to the ring over the following weeks.
The case broke open during a joint business inspection on August 27, when members of CPD’s Animal Crimes Investigation Team, the department’s Vice Section, the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection department, and the Department of Buildings descended on the Roosevelt Road address together. Investigators determined the business was operating without a valid license. Inside, officers located a rooster with its comb, wattle and spurs removed, a mutilation known as dubbing, before transferring the bird to Chicago Animal Care and Control.
What the Missing Comb and Wattle Signal to Investigators
Dubbing is not a cosmetic accident. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, breeders routinely remove a rooster’s comb and wattle to minimize blood loss during fights and to allow handlers to attach sharp artificial gaffs to the bird’s legs. The procedure is typically performed without anesthesia or professional veterinary care, and the group notes it serves as a telltale sign that a bird has been prepared for organized fighting rather than kept as ordinary livestock or a pet…