Rooster "Cock" Fighting

The Issue: Rooster Fighting

The Argument:

Not only is fighting roosters fundamentally wrong, it is also very cruel.

The Other Side:

“Roosters are naturally aggressive. They love to fight and would do it anyway”

Although roosters become naturally territorial if there are female hens around, a flock of roosters tend to get along very well. These roosters are specifically antagonized to fight. Their instincts are used against them for human benefit. This is more just a lie people involved in rooster fighting tell themselves to assuage whatever guilt they have.
You might ask: “Even if these roosters would naturally kill each other in the wild, does that justify us using their aggression and violent tendencies for our own gain. Do we have a right to make money off of their pain, suffering and blood-shed?”

The Facts:

What is “Cock” Fighting

Fighting roosters is a blood-sport where two agitated roosters are placed in an enclosed pen together, usually with razors or spurs attached to their ankles, and forced to fight. The objective is to bet on the winning rooster, or, which one is able to kill the other.1 Fighting roosters is illegal in all 50 states but still takes place in some rural parts of America as well as other countries in the world. ^1,2

Roosters often undergo several months of “training” conditioning them to be aggressive, violent, and fast. Just before fighting a rooster will often have any long feathers plucked and will have their waddle (combs below the beak) sliced off so their competitor will not tear them off in a fight. Roosters often have razor blades or artificial gaffs (sharp spikes approximately 3” long) taped to the back of their ankle^.3

How does it Hurt Them?

Aside from the mutilation of the rooster's face prior to fighting, what happens inside the ring is much worse. Most roosters will die in the cock fighting ring. Because they are unable to escape, the only hope they have of the fight coming to an end is if one of them is seriously injured or killed. Roosters face injury, mutilation, punctured organs, and exhaustion in the pit. The winning rooster becomes the “champion” and will be forced to fight again.³

How to Advocate

Because fighting roosters is illegal, it always takes place on private property, abandoned warehouses or other dangerous areas. An advantage to its illegal status would be that if found out about and documented, it is fairly easy to shut down. However, because it is illegal, it can only be documented via undercover investigation or drone footage.²

In the Resources section below we link to organizations who are already doing this undercover work. Supporting them will help these rings get busted quicker.

The Lingo:

Cock fighting- The term most commonly used when talking about rooster fighting. Cock is another name for a rooster.