At the Austin Animal Center, crowding is the normal order of things. People from all over the region bring stray cats and dogs to the city — even if they’re not supposed to — because of its “no kill” animal policy. But the center recently got an influx of a different kind, leaving staff and volunteers with a conundrum.
What to do with 32 fighting roosters.
The roosters came to the center from the Austin Police Department, which had seized them after a cockfighting bust. They’re currently being held in two parts of the building: some on display in kennels usually reserved for cats or dogs, and many more in the loading bay, each assigned its own crate.