Cockfighting
From GamefowlWiki, the gamefowl encyclopedia
Cockfighting pronounced: 'käk-fI-ti[ng] is an age old sport that the dictionary defines as: "a contest in which gamecocks usually fitted with metal spurs are pitted against each other." m-w.com
The types of cockfighting ranges in forms and is not limited to the use of metal spurs. There are many different cockfighting types all with strict rules and guidelines. Heritage and culture usually contributes to which cockfighting type is most popular in its region.
Because there exists no written record as to it’s beginning’s, the origins of cockfighting are clouded in the mists and annuals of time. Although it is most assuredly one of the oldest husbandry practices known to man. Emerging simultaneously with mans first attempts at domestication of the Wild Red Jungle Fowl, some 8 to 10 thousand years ago in what is now Vietnam and Cambodia [1]. It was in all probability the premiere reason for domestication of G. Galus galus. Taking as its model the venerable and immutable law of nature, the survival of the fittest.
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[edit] Regional variations
In some regional variations, the birds are equipped with either gaffs or knives tied to the leg in the area where the bird's natural spur is located. A cockspur is a bracelet (often made of leather) with a curved, sharp spike which is attached to the leg of the bird. The spikes typically range in length from "short spurs" of just over 1/4 inch to "long spurs" almost two and a half inches long. Contrary to many beliefs the use of gaffs or knives in cockfights is better for the fowl overall. Since gamefowl are much like the beta fish in which they are born to fight, Tom Gowler ask "Is it better to die by a sword or to be pummeled to death by a fist?"
In the highest levels of seventeenth century English cockfighting, the spikes were made of silver. In the "naked heel" variation, the bird's natural spurs are left intact: fighting is done without gaffs or taping, particularly in India (especially in Tamil Nadu) There it is mostly fought naked heel and either three rounds of twenty minutes with a gap of again twenty minutes or four rounds of fifteen minutes each and a gap of fifteen minutes between them.
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Belgium, Colombia, France, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Italy, Philippines, Peru, Puerto Rico, Canary Islands and Guam have well-established arenas with seats or bleachers for spectators surrounding the ring, similar to a wrestling or boxing arena, and fights may be held all throughout the day. In many countries, cockfighting draws whole families, and in some countries, cockfighting is as popular as baseball and football are in the United States. Among the competitors who raise fighting cocks, there is great pride in the gameness of their birds and in winning a championship.
[edit] Legal issues
In many places, cockfights and other animal fights have been outlawed based on opposition to gambling or animal cruelty. It may also be illegal to possess, raise, train, advertise, or trade cocks or accoutrement's that could be used for cockfighting. Also, participating in a cockfight in any manner may be illegal: advertising, transporting participants or spectators, placing wagers, hosting an event, etc. It is common for law enforcement to impound property associated with any cockfighting activity. Despite the bans, cockfights are long standing traditions which are a part of many peoples' cultures across the globe and, thus, cockfighting continues to be legal in many areas.
[edit] Europe
[edit] Britain
Cockfighting was banned outright in England, Wales and the British overseas territories with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 and in Scotland, where it had been relatively common in the eighteenth century, in 1895.
[edit] France
Holding cockfights is a crime in France, but there is an exemption under subparagraph 3 of article 521-1 of the French penal code for cockfights and bullfights in locales where an uninterrupted tradition exists for them. Thus, cockfighting is allowed in the Nord-Pas de Calais region, in Metropolitan France where it takes place in a small number of towns including Raimbeaucourt, La Bistade and other villages around Lille. On Réunion Island there are 5 officially authorized gallodromes (i.e. cockfighting arenas).
[edit] Southeast Asia
Cockfighting is common in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. In Indonesia, they are called sabung.
[edit] Pakistan
[edit] Philippines
Cockfighting is a national pastime in the Philippines and is called sabong in Tagalog. It is mentioned by José Rizal in his novel Noli Me Tangere. Cockfights are usually held every day of the week including holidays, especially in the provinces.
[edit] India
Cockfighting (Vetrukkaal seval porr in Tamil which means "naked heel cock fight") (Kodi Pandem in Telugu) (Kori katta in Tulu) is favorite sport of people living in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka, India.
[edit] Tamil Nadu
Cockfighting in Tamil Nadu is mentioned in ancient literature like Manu Needhi Sastiram, Kattu Seval Sastiram, and other sangam-age literature, 2,000 years old. It is referred to as the favorite past-time for Maravars or the warriors of Tamil Country. It is acknowledged as one of the 64 "arts" widely spoken by the scholars and mastered by the ancestors/scholars of this part of the world. In earlier days they were fighting with the jungle fowl and its variants later, due to the naval expeditions to Java and Malay by the Pandian Rulers the local poultry of that land might have found its way to Tamil Nadu and a new strain/breed started its development in here which later spread to many places such as India. The newer breeds which are known now are The "Reja" (which is a short Variety),"Sonatol","Calcutta Asil","Madras Asil","Kalkatiya" (Also known as "Kadhar" synonymous to Black Asils), The Reds (Also known locally as "Yakuth"),The Yellow Variants (Also known as The "Peela" Asil), The Grey is known locally as "Java" and its variants reddish grey as "Dummer". Also they have a "henny" variety cock known locally as "Pettai Madhiri" the literal meaning is "it looks like a hen", though this variety is said to have come from "Singala Island", or Sri Lanka.
[edit] United States
Cockfighting has a very long tradition in American culture and history. Many of the founding fathers participated in the sport of cockfighting including Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. First the British and then the Irish brought in their favorite breeds of fighting roosters. These breeds make up most of the modern American breeds. With the influx of immigrants from Central America and Asia, they have each added new forms of cockfighting.
In the United States cockfighting is illegal in Washington, D.C. and all states but Louisiana. On June 27, 2007, the Louisiana legislature voted to ban cockfighting in the state. A spokeswoman for Governor Kathleen Blanco says, pending a thorough review of the bill, the governor intends to sign it into law. The ban will take effect in August 2008. It is legal in the United States Territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have made cockfighting a felony however, in most places, it is legal to possess roosters. It is illegal in 40 states and D.C. to be a spectator at cockfights. Animal welfare activists continue to lobby for a ban on the sport.
On May 3, 2007 President Bush signed into law the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, which criminalizes the transferral of cockfighting implements across state or national borders, and increases the penalty for violations of federal animal fighting laws to three years imprisonment. [9]
In 2006 the United States Virgin Islands passed a bill which outlaws the use of artificial spurs. Thus far the bill has not been enforced.
Cockfighting has a higher level of social acceptance in Puerto Rico than in Louisiana. It also has a much larger human population and pool of fighting cocks than the Virgin Islands or Guam. With the interstate transport ban Puerto Rico is likely to be the last holdout. The United States Virgin Islands government is trying to move the sport towards Gamecock Boxing.
[edit] Guam
Cockfighting events in Guam are held during village fiestas where a patron saint of that village is celebrated. With an influx of Filipino immigrants to the island before and after World War II, the sport has been accepted as a tradition. Imported roosters and hens from the U.S. fetch a heavy price and many residents believe that with the bans enforced in the U.S., people may breed chickens.
[edit] Venezuela
Cockfighting is not only accepted in Apure, but common.
[edit] Cockfighting in Popular Culture
- University of South Carolina's mascot is a gamecock.
- Jacksonville State University in Alabama, Sumter High School (Sumter, South Carolina) and Screven High School (Sylvania, Georgia) use the name gamecock.
- A fighting cock is also the symbol for the UKs Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
- The male sport teams of the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras are named "Gallitos" ("Little Roosters") after gamecocks.
- The 2006 videogame Scarface: The World is Yours features cockfights the player can bet on.
- Bob Dylan song "Cry a while" line "Feel like a fighting rooster"
- The 1980 film, Heaven's Gate, starring Kris Kristofferson and Christopher Walken, features a full-length scene of cockfighting.
- The Brazilian film Cidade Baixa features an intense cockfighting scene
- The 1965 film The Cincinnati Kid features a cockfighting scene.
- Seinfeld episode no. 145 "The Little Jerry" revolves around a cockfight, with "Little Jerry" referring to a rooster named after Jerry Seinfeld.
- Film Director Monte Hellman made a movie in 1974 called Cockfighter, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford.
- Wilford Brimley is an avid supporter of cockfighting.[2]
- The Alex Haley novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the miniseries based on it feature cockfighting and the character Chicken George.
- The House episode "Humpty Dumpty" (episode 25, third of season 2) features a cockfighting scene.
- TV personality Stephen Colbert has referenced his passion for cockfighting multiple times on his Comedy Central program, The Colbert Report.
- In the Simpsons episode "Kamp Krusty", Krusty the Clown takes the kids to a cockfight in Tijuana, Mexico.
- In the Kings of Leon song Four Kicks it says, "We'll take to the yard like a cock fight".
- In the Drawn Together episode "Mexican't Buy Me Love", Ling-Ling disguises himself as a chicken in order to win money cockfighting, which is, according to this episode, a common form of Mexican entertainment.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, v.91, pp. 12505-12509, 12/20/94, Fumihito et al.
