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Cock fight in London, c. 1808
A Cockfight in zoo.




Cockfighting is a blood sport due in some part to the physical trauma the cocks inflict on each other. While not all fights are to the death, the cocks may endure significant physical trauma. In areas around the world, cockfighting is still practiced as a mainstream event; in some countries it is regulated by law, or forbidden outright. Advocates of the "age old sport"[2][3] often list cultural and religious relevance as reasons for perpetuation of cockfighting as a sport.[4]





Cock fighting is said to be the world's oldest spectator sport. It goes back 6,000 years in Persia.[6]

According to one author, there is evidence that cockfighting was a pastime in the Indus Valley Civilization.[7] The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008) holds:[8]


The significance of the original name of Mohenjo-daro inferring that the city was "the city of the cock" takes on great significance if taking into account that it has been claimed that the chicken was domesticated in India in 6000 BC.[9][10] However, according to a recent study,[11] "it is not known whether these birds made much contribution to the modern domestic fowl. Chickens from the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley (2500-2100 BC) may have been the main source of diffusion throughout the world." "Within the Indus Valley, indications are that chickens were used for sport and not for food (Zeuner 1963)"[12] and that by 1000 BC they had assumed "religious significance".[12]



The image of a fighting rooster has been found the 6th century BC seal of Jaazaniah, discovered during the excavation of the biblical city of Mizpah in Benjamin, near Jerusalem.[14] It is one of the earliest depictions of a fighting rooster ever recovered.[14][15] This depiction is consistent with the remains of these birds found at other Israelite Iron Age sites, when the rooster was used as a fighting bird; they are also pictured on other seals from the period as a symbol of ferocity, such as on the one engraved on a late-7th-century BC red jasper seal inscribed "Jehoahaz, son of the king",[16][17] which likely belonged to Jehoahaz of Judah "while he was still a prince during his father's life."[18]


Regional variations[edit]

Spurs taped and tied onto legs


Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Canary Islands, Saipan, and Guam have arenas with seats or bleachers for spectators surrounding the ring. In many countries, the spectacle of cockfighting is as popular as baseball and American football are in the United States.[clarification needed] Among the competitors who raise fighting cocks, there is great pride in the prowess of their birds and in winning a championship.












Cockfight in Querétaro, Mexico
Cockfight in Lima, Peru
Two gamecocks fighting, Thailand, 1967









Southeast Asia[edit]

Cockfighting is common throughout all of Southeast Asia, where it is implicated in spreading bird flu.[26][27] Like Islam, Christianity might shun the belief in spirits, but in Southeast Asia, as in Mexico, indigenous interpretations of the veneration of saints and passion plays dominate. In the Christian northern Philippines, respect is accorded the veneration of traditional anito (spirits), shamans number in the thousands and Catholic priests are powerless to stop cockfighting, a popular form of fertility worship among almost all Southeast Asians.[28] Also in rural northern Thailand a religious ceremony honoring ancestral spirits takes place known as "faun phii", spirit dance or ghost dance, and includes offerings for ancestors with spirit mediums sword fighting, spirit possessed dancing, and "spirit mediums cock fighting",[29] in a spiritual cockfight.


Cockfighting is a very old tradition in Balinese Hinduism, the Batur Bang Inscriptions I (from the year 933) and the Batuan Inscription (dated 944 on the Balinese Caka calendar) disclose that the tabuh rah ritual has existed for centuries.[30] In Bali, cockfights, known as tajen, are practiced in an ancient religious purification ritual to expel evil spirits.[31] This ritual, a form of animal sacrifice, is called tabuh rah ("pouring blood").[32] The purpose of tabuh rah is to provide an offering (the blood of the losing chicken) to the evil spirits. Cockfighting is a religious obligation at every Balinese temple festival or religious ceremony.[33] Cockfights without a religious purpose are considered gambling in Indonesia. Women are generally not involved in the tabuh rah process.


The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz published his most famous work, Notes on the Balinese Cockfight, on the practice of cockfights in Bali. In it, he argued that the cockfight served as a pastiche or model of wider Balinese society from which judgments about other aspects of the culture could be drawn.


Cockfighting is similar to boxing for the younger roosters as they battle for a victory with their blunt natural spurs or lack thereof and after maturity they battle with their mature natural spurs which may have become pointed. Despite fighting cocks allowed to be used in cockfighting, "the state has designated them a protected species".[34]

Southern India[edit]

A cockfight in Tamil Nadu, India
A cockfight on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan
A cockfight in Hilongos, Philippines






Cockfighting is illegal but widespread in Iraq. The attendees come to gamble or just for the entertainment. A rooster can cost up to $8,000. The most-prized birds are called Harati, which means that they are of Turkish or Indian origin, and have muscular legs and necks.[37]


Cockfighting is a popular sport in rural Pakistan; however, "betting is illegal under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977".[38] Betting is illegal, but police often turn a blind eye towards it. In Sindh (one of 4 major provinces), people are fond of keeping fighting cock breed, known as Sindhi aseel in Pakistan. These cocks are noted being tall, heavy and good at fighting. Another popular breed is called Mianwali Aseel.


World Gamefowl Expo 2014, World Trade Center Metro Manila



The country has hosted several World Slasher Cup derbies, held biannually at Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, where the world's leading game fowl breeders gather. The World Gamefowl Expo 2014 was held in the World Trade Center Metro Manila.




Other bird species[edit]

In 2009, authorities caught and shut down an illegal songbird-fighting ring in Shelton, Connecticut that had been using Saffron Finches and canaries.[40] The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals commented that such songbird fighting is extremely rare. The ancient Greeks used to practice quail fighting, using the common quail Coturnix coturnix.[41] Also in south east Asia and ancient China were used to practice "quail fighting", but using the female buttonquails.

Legal issues[edit]

Cockfight in Vietnam.
Cockfight in Otavalo, Ecuador

In many places, cockfights and other animal fights have been outlawed, often based on opposition to gambling or animal cruelty. In the United States cockfighting is against the law. In some American states it is not illegal to possess, raise, train, advertise, or trade cocks or accoutrements that could be used for cockfighting. However, actively participating in a cockfight in any manner is illegal: advertising, transporting participants or spectators, placing wagers, hosting an event, etc. It is common for law enforcement to confiscate property associated with any cockfighting activity.[42]



Cockfighting is banned in Spain except in the Canary Islands and Andalusia. Organisations such as the WWF/Adena and some political parties are trying to ban it there too.[43][44][45] The law allows it but tries to make it disappear "naturally" by blocking its expansion.[46] Contrasting with the rest of the country (except with Catalonia), bullfighting is instead forbidden in the Canary Islands, since it is not considered traditional, unlike cockfighting.

Cockfighting is also legal in Andalusia in the cities and villages where it is considered traditional. With its famous Jerezanos race of fighting cocks, the Cádiz province is the most popular centre of cockfighting in Andalusia.

United Kingdom[edit]

Cockfighting was banned outright in England and Wales and in the British Overseas Territories with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835. Sixty years later, in 1895, cockfighting was also banned in Scotland, where it had been relatively common in the 18th century.[47] A reconstructed cockpit from Denbigh in North Wales may be found at St Fagans National History Museum in Cardiff[48] and a reference exists in 1774 to a cockpit at Stanecastle in Scotland.[49]

According to the RSPCA, cockfighting in England and Wales still takes place, but has declined in recent years.[50]


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[51] and other villages around Lille.[52] On Réunion Island, there are five officially authorized gallodromes (i.e. cockfighting arenas). The Nord-Pas-de-Calais has a dozen gallodromes, that also target the Belgian associations of aficionados, who travel to France to avoid the prohibition of cockfighting in Belgium. The Nord-Pas-de Calais has its own race of fighting cocks the "Combattant de Nord".

There is currently a flow of British aficionados to cockfights that come from January to June to the Nord-Pas-de-Calais to participate in the cockfights. Some of them have been arrested at the British border for transporting cockerels or material for cockfights, which has led to a small cottage industry of British-owned cockerel farms. Likewise, some caretakers in Nord-Pas-de-Calais cater exclusively to British cockfighters who, by law, are not permitted to transport and care for their birds in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]





In the first half of the 20th century, legality of cockfights suffered several ups and downs.[53]


Up to beginnings of 1968 cockfights used to be held everywhere in the country, but with the purpose of stopping the bets, the arenas were closed and the fights forbidden by the authorities. In 1980 authorities legallized cockfights again and a state business organization was created with the participation of the private breeders, grouped in territories. Every year the state organization announces several national tournaments from January to April, makes trade shows and sells fighting cocks to clients from other Caribbean countries.[22]

United States[edit]

Cockfighting club in Puerto Rico, 1937.

In the United States, cockfighting is now illegal in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The last state to implement a state law banning cockfighting was Louisiana; the Louisiana State Legislature voted to approve a Louisiana ban in June 2007.[55] The ban took effect in August 2008.[56] Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have made cockfighting a felony. It is illegal in all 50 states to knowingly attend a cockfight and/or bring a minor to the event. On February 7, 2014 President Obama signed the Farm Bill which contained the U.S. H.R. 366/S. 666—Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act. "The final bill includes a provision making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child under the age of 16 to an animal fighting event[.]" [57] "The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act would make it a federal offense to knowingly attend an organized animal fight and would impose additional penalties for bringing children to animal fights. Violators would face up to one year in prison for attending a fight, and up to three years in prison for bringing a minor to a fight." [58] In the District of Columbia it is illegal to be a spectator at cockfights. Animal welfare activists continue to lobby for a ban on the sport. Cockfighting remains legal in the United States territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, although in 2006, the Virgin Islands adopted a law banning modifications such as the use of artificial spurs.



On 8 February 2014, law enforcement made New York's largest cockfighting bust where they seized 3,000 birds and arrested roughly 70 people across three counties. The investigation was deemed the name "Operation Angry Birds" and they made three raids: a cockfight in Queens, a pet shop in Brooklyn, and a farm in Plattekill. The raids were performed by the task force, along with New York State Police, the Homeland Security Department and the Ulster County sheriff's office. Upon entry of the Queens cockfight, authorities found the birds in small cages with razors attached to them. The 70 individuals who attended the event were taken into custody. All but 9 of these men were let go. The nine men were given felony arrests and animal-fighting charges.[61][62][63]


Cockfighting, and the possession of cockfighting equipment, is illegal in Australia[64][65]

In popular culture[edit]

Sunday Cockfight at Madrid, an 1873 wood engraving


In music[edit]


In visual arts[edit]

Greek youngsters watching a cockfight, from Jean-Léon Gérôme (1846).
Cockfight, from Emile Claus (1882)

The painting "Cockfight" (1846) an academic exercise of the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, Vainqueur au combat de coqs (1864) bronze statue from the French sculptor Alexandre Falguière and the painting "Cockfight" (1882) from the Flemish painter Emile Claus are samples of the presence of cockfighting in visual arts.









In literature[edit]

Nathanael West's 1939 novel The Day of the Locust includes a detailed and graphic cockfighting scene, as does the Alex Haley novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the miniseries based on it. In literature, a description of a bordertown cockfight fiesta can be found in On the Border: Portraits of America's Southwestern Frontier.[66] Charles Willeford wrote a novel, Cockfighter ,which gives a detailed account of the protagonist's life as a 'cocker'.

In martial arts[edit]


In video games[edit]


Square Enix's video game Sleeping Dogs allows the player character to spectate and bet on various virtual cockfights based around the game's rendition of the city of Hong Kong.

In religion[edit]



See also[edit]


  6. ^ "History". Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  8. ^ Cockfighting. Encyclopædia Britannica 2008
  19. ^ Staff (2011-02-06). "Cockfighting bird stabs, kills man". The New York Post. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  20. ^ "Champion rooster slashes its owner's throat for being asked to fight once too often". UK Daily Mail. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  23. ^ "Crónica Sobre el Gallo Navajero/". Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  25. ^ [8] Brazilian animal law - Alex P - JoinUniverse
  26. ^
  29. ^ Marti Patel (2010-11-19). "Trance dancing and spirit possession in Northern Thailand". Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  30. ^ "Bali-Cockfighting Tradition Lives". The Jakarta Post. Jakarta, Indonesia: 2002-01-24. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  34. ^ [9] Fighting cocks embody Tosa spirit - The Daily Yomiuri - Lasting Tradition By Tatsuya Sakamoto
  37. ^ "Cockfighting in Iraq: a different kind of battle". 2012-04-11. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  38. ^ [10] Cockfight signifies cruel culture - Pakistan Today - Thursday, 26 July 2012
  39. ^ "Emergency: 'Sentensyador'". 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  42. ^ "Oregon House Bill 2086". 1981-11-01. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  48. ^ "Cockpit". National Museum Wales. Retrieved 15 November 2013. 
  53. ^ Revista Carteles, September 2, 1956.
  55. ^ "Louisiana State House passes Cockfighting ban". 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  57. ^ HSLF (February 2014). "Farm Bill Strengthens Animal Fighting Law, Maintains State Farm Animal Protection Laws : The Humane Society of the United States". Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  58. ^ "USA: Attending an Animal Fight Now a Federal Crime!". 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  60. ^ [11] The Animal Welfare Act: Background and Selected Legislation by Tadlock Cowan - Analyst in Natural Resources and Rural Development - September 9, 2010
  61. ^ Antenucci, Antonio (10 February 2014). "70 arrested in NY’s largest cockfighting bust". New York Post. Retrieved 10 February 2014. 
  62. ^ Assefa, Haimy (10 February 2014). "New York cockfighting bust uncovers 3,000 birds and yields 9 arrests". Retrieved 10 February 2014. 
  63. ^ "NY AG: 3,000 Birds Rescued in Cockfighting Bust". ABC News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014. 
  64. ^ "Is cock fighting illegal in Australia?". RSPCA Australia knowledgebase. RSPCA 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2014-02-11. 
  65. ^
  67. ^ John McCain talks UFC and MMA, MMARoot
  68. ^ Cockfight - A Case Book - Allen Dundes - University of Wisconsin Press, 1994 [12]

External links[edit]