Ceres game fowl breeder faces charges of animal cruelty tied to cockfighting
The longtime owner and operator of a game fowl farm in the Ceres area has been charged with offenses involving cockfighting, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a three-count indictment against Joseph D. Sanford, 72, a Ceres-area resident. He runs the Joe Sanford Gamefarm, which according to Facebook is on East Keyes Road south of Ceres and offers birds for breeding and show purposes.
But court documents say the 10.25-acre property is used for breeding and selling roosters for cockfighting. Sanford lives at the game farm and was arrested there Monday morning. He was arraigned in Fresno in the afternoon.
He is charged with conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act, unlawfully possessing animals for a fighting venture, and unlawfully selling animals for a fighting venture. The indictment says he’s been committing the offenses since “a time unknown, but no later than on or about Jan. 1, 1980.” It seeks the forfeiture of the nearly 3,000 game fowl at his business.
A news release from U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott of the Eastern District of California says Joe Sanford Gamefarm was searched following an undercover purchase of three fighting birds.
Monday afternoon, the defendant agreed as a condition of release to surrender 367 roosters and to care for and maintain custody of the remaining 334 hens and 2,255 pullets, which are subject to forfeiture. He has agreed not to acquire, not to sell, and not to breed new game fowl.
The indictment alleges Sanford’s involvement in the interstate shipments of game fowl. It also says he possessed medical equipment such as scalpels, syringes, thermometers and medications for conditioning roosters and surgically altering them by removing their wattles, combs, spurs and other body parts. Removal of the body parts makes a bird less of a target for its opponent, the indictment says.
As described in the indictment, “cockfighting is a contest in which a knife, gaff or other sharp instrument is often attached to the legs of gamecocks or roosters for the purpose of fighting each other. ... The fight is ended when one rooster is dead or refuses to continue to fight. It is not uncommon for one or both roosters to die after a fight.”
Members of the Humane Society of the United States were at the Joe Sanford Gamefarm on Monday. Three birds have been seized, said Lauren Horwood, public information officer for the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“During the execution of a search warrant at his business/residence in April of this year, he agreed to not to receive or sell any more game fowl,” Horwood told The Bee in an email. “As alleged in the indictment, he continued to ship game fowl after the search of his business.”
For instance, the indictment says that sometime between mid-April and mid-September, he received shipment of about 200 more birds.
Sanford, his wife and two employees operate the business, Horwood said, and as of Monday morning, it still was in business.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the IRS; the U.S. Marshal Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Forest Service; the Humane Society; the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department; Placer County Animal Services and El Dorado County Animal Services. The Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice also lent assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Sanford faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 3:04 PM.
