What is Wrong With This Picture? 

Here's a story from FoxNews about a Cockfighting Crackdown in Tennessee:

Law enforcement agents raided an illegal cockfight and arrested 144 people attending what one official said may have been one of the nation's largest such gatherings.

Several SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of state troopers participated in the raid Saturday on the sprawling Del Rio Cockfight Pit. They seized about $40,000 in cash and killed more than 300 roosters.
...
The 144 were each charged with being a spectator to cockfighting, a misdemeanor in Tennessee. If convicted, they face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine.

John Goodwin, of the Humane Society of the United States, who took part in the raid, said it served notice on those conducting such illegal operations. "I wouldn't want to be a cockfighter in East Tennessee right now," he said.

A few things about this story seem strange to me. First of all we have the fact that they killed 300 roosters as a result of the raid. Now... assuming that the prohibition on cock fighting is to protect the animals, why did they kill them? I find this especially strange given the fact that someone from the local Humane Society took part in the raid.

The second thing that seems strange here is the level of force used to arrest these people. Several SWAT teams were used, helicopters, and state troopers. I'm sure guns were drawn, and at several points the people being arrested were in imminent danger of being shot or worse. However, they were charged with misdemeanors. Does that seem like overkill to anyone else?