Man sentenced for cockfighting ring will get jail time, court says

A 40-year-old man has been sentenced for his part in a cockfighting ring busted in Pixley earlier this year, the Tulare County District Attorney announced Friday.

Travis Risner, of Riverside County, was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in custody, three years of probation, and is banned from attending cockfights or possessing fighting tools.

He was found guilty of misdemeanor bird fighting, possessing cockfighting implements and unlawful presence of fighting animals.

Risner was found by a deputy on Aug. 4 in a pistachio orchard half a mile east of Road 176 in Pixley, according to the district attorney’s office.

As the deputy arrived, several cars fled from the orchard. Risner was found next to his vehicle with entry forms, rooster supplements and 21 sheathed gaff blades, which are typically tied to roosters in a fight.

Nine to 10 roosters were found in cardboard boxes next to his vehicle, the district attorney said.

The deputy also found a makeshift fighting ring and tables with betting slips nearby.