Connecticut Catches Cock Fight Fever

New England is hardly a cockfighting hot spot, but Connecticut might be turning into one, the Boston Globe reports. Since 2005 Hartford-area police have made at least five major cockfighting busts, arresting about 80 people and seizing more than $88,000. Police aren’t sure if that means cockfighting is on the rise, or that they’re being more vigilant, but they’re disturbed by one detail: People are steaming into the state for these events.

Three of the busts occurred in Waterbury, but the people arrested have largely been out-of-towners, hailing from 26 communities in four states. “How do they find out about it?” wondered a Waterbury alderman. “How is it being advertised? And how do we shut these people down?” Part of the explanation might be demographics: More than a quarter of Waterbury residents are now Hispanic, many hailing from countries where cockfighting is legal. (More Connecticut stories.)