But it's not natural for them to fight pumped full of stimulant drugs to make them more aggressive. Or for 2 inch razor-sharp knives to be attached to their spurs, after which they're tossed into a dirt pit full of blood and feathers to perform for a howling mob of men, women and children. They fight for minutes if their windpipe is slashed or lungs pierced, but fights can go on for an hour before other wounds take their toll. Death, there, can take up to 24 hours. Amazingly, there is yet more profit to be squeezed from these chickens.
Children often look on, holding the bets.
I'm no expert on chicken-fighting, but after 37 years in the humane movement I am an expert on cruelty to animals. And I say this is barbarism. I don't buy for a moment the argument that a chicken is not an animal. It is living and sentient - it feels pain and fear. Efforts to Ban Cockfighting Continue UAN supported with general grants and publicity the successful anti-cockfighting initiatives in 1998 in Missouri and Arizona.