MOSCOW, August 16 (RAPSI) - A Romanian princess was arrested in Oregon Thursday in connection with an alleged cockfighting ring, local news outlet The Oregonian reported Thursday.
Irina Walker, reportedly the third daughter of Romanian King Michael I, is alleged to have staged at least 10 cockfighting derbies with her husband between April 2012 and May 2013.
A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday explains: "Cockfighting is a game or contest of chance in which a knife, a gaff or other sharp instrument is attached to the legs of gamecocks or roosters for the purpose of fighting each other. The fight occurs in a pit or ring surrounded by spectators. The fights between the roosters are supervised by a referee. The fight is ended when one rooster is dead or refuses to continue to fight. If not killed during the fight, the losing rooster is almost always killed after the fight. A series of cockfights conducted in a day is referred to as a derby."
The indictment further explains that gamecocks look like roosters, but have been surgically altered, trained, and conditioned for fighting.
In a statement accompanying the unsealing of the indictment, US Attorney for the District of Oregon Amanda Marshall said, "Cockfighting is illegal under federal law and under the laws of all 50 states... Besides being a barbaric practice, cockfighting jeopardizes public health and safety and facilitates the commission of other criminal acts."
The Oregonian reported Thursday that Walker is fifth in line to the Romanian throne, but has never been a highly visible member of the royal family. According to the report, she was born and raised in Switzerland before moving to Oregon in 1983, and has only visited Romania "a handful of times," thus having remained largely out of the public eye. The local news agency added that King Michael was forced to abdicate his throne in 1947, and has lived modestly in Switzerland and the UK ever since, "maintaining a chicken farm and a carpenter's shop."