In bid to stop disease, USDA pays owners of fighting cocks Sunday, July 6, 2003 ©2003 Associated Press URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/07/06/state1258EDT0016.DTL (07-06) 09:58 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- In its rush to stop a disease that was ravaging California's poultry industry, the federal government paid about $11.5 million to compensate owners of so-called backyard birds, including thousands believed to be fighting cocks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture spent more than $22.3 million from October to May to compensate chicken ranchers whose birds had to be destroyed to eradicate Exotic Newcastle Disease. Records obtained by The Associated Press under the federal Freedom of...
