Dozens of Animals Seized From Bushwick Pet Shop

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — A local pet store reportedly linked to cockfighting was raided by the NYPD and ASPCA Wednesday.

According to the New York Daily News, police and animal-rescue workers hauled dozens of roosters, hens, several exotic birds and one pit bull puppy out of Pet NV on Bushwick’s Central Avenune — marking the second time in two years that animals had to be removed from the location.

ASPCA officials said in a statement sent to Patch:

“The ASPCA is providing animal care and forensic assistance to the NYPD following the removal of animals during the execution of four search warrants at 71 Central Avenue in Brooklyn. Please contact NYPD DCPI for information regarding the investigation. We cannot comment further at this time.”

A press officer for the NYPD, however, claimed to have no information about the rescue.

According to Pix 11 news, Pet NV store owner Jeremias Nieves, 77, served four years in prison for two felonies related to cockfighting after a raid in 2000.

And the Daily News reported that in 2014, police removed about 50 roosters from metal cages in the basement of Pet NV. Nieves was reportedly arrested after that raid, too, and charged with animal fighting in an “Operation Angry Birds” investigation spanning Queens, Brooklyn and upstate Ulster County.

For the full Daily News story, click here.

For the full Pix 11 story, click here.