Dutch police on Tuesday raided what they said was a centre for training fighting cocks, seizing 51 birds and arresting two people, following a tip-off.

The building in a rural part of Bodegraven, between Leiden and Utrecht, included a closed wheel which was used to train the hens and pens where the birds lived. Local broadcaster Omroep West also showed a photograph of a bucket containing dead birds.

Cock fighting is illegal in the Netherlands but the hens may have been destined for France, where cock fighting is legal in a few places, the broadcaster quoted the police as saying.

Op een perceel aan de #BurgemeesterKremerweg in #Bodegraven zijn meerdere hanen aangetroffen. Een 31 jarige man uit #Zwammerdam en een 38 jarige man uit Bodegraven zijn aangehouden op verdenking van het houden van verboden #hanengevechten meer info volgt pic.twitter.com/LfwBsPN7xr

— Politie Den Haag (@POL_DenHaag) December 11, 2018

The two men arrested are aged 31 and 38 and come from Zwammerdam and Bodegraven.