RUSK COUNTY, Texas — Roosters saved from cockfighting in Rusk County who were set to be adopted will now be euthanized after testing positive for a deadly, infectious disease.
Eighty-seven roosters were seized and 13 men were arrested on July 4 after Rusk County Sheriff’s Office deputies found a crowd of men, and roosters in cages, at an address on County Road 2132, Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said.
Testing showed positive results for infectious laryngotracheitis, a highly contagious respiratory disease found in poultry. The illness is caused by the herpes virus, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
TAHC states that once the disease is introduced, ILT spreads rapidly by contact, and birds that recover may continue to spread the disease for long periods of time. Infected birds will have difficulty breathing along with symptoms of coughing and gasping, watery eyes, swollen sinuses, nasal discharge and bloody secretions from the trachea.
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