As of today, June 26, 2006, can you believe that there are still states in the nation that legally allow cock fighting.  One of those states is New Mexico and of course the other is my home state, Louisiana.

I've had the opportunity to go to a cock fighting event a few years back.  It took place inside an old barn contrary to the way it is mostly done today, in private.  They charged you a small entry fee but once you actually got in, its something you'll never forget.  In the middle of the arena was a man-made square cage surrounded by hurricane fencing.  Surrounding the cage was seating to about twenty rows high.  I was shocked when I first got my glimpse of the action.  People were screaming and yelling all around me.  They were placing illegal bets on which bird would win the fight.

You have a few different catagories of cock fights.  The reason they have this is because it makes for cleaner kills.  They tape artificial spurs, knives, or what looks like swords to their two feet.  The two owners enter the cage and everyone starts making bets.  Then the referee signal for the owners to bring the roosters together.  They stand about five feet apart then on the referre's signal, they release the birds.  The birds, doing as they are trained, kick and peck at the other bird until one falls helplessly.  The referee then signals for the owners to pick up the birds and reposition them for another round.  The referee lets this go until one bird is completely lifeless.  This normally takes about three to six rounds.  That night they must have had at least 50 different fights take place.

I actually know a guy that actually trains these birds for cock fighting.  He pumps them full of steroids and other hormones.  He spends many hours with these birds training them and making sure they grow strong to be able to handle a battle.

From a political and moral standpoint, I cannot see how in the 21^st century can we still allow these barbaric activities to continue.  A bill was proposed in the LA House of Representives to stop this cruel sport.  It got voted down yet again.  The reason for this bill being killed was the legislators saying that it would cripple our feed industry.  They said it would put too much pressure on the local feed stores and would force them to go out of business.  I say that is a load of bull.  You can't say that a feed store's profit ability is solely relying on these cock fighters.  Cock fighting should be banned for many reasons.  It is barbaric.  Instead of raising these rooster to fight, why not raise them for the intended meaning, for food or reproduction.  Because of all the hormones and steriods they pump them birds with, after they die the only thing you can do with them is throw their bodies away like trash.  This also sends a very negative meaning about the great state of Louisiana to many outsiders.  If you hear that this state still allows cock fighting, you probably lose some respect for its residents, whether or not they support cock fighting.  It is a disgrace to our state as well as our nation to allow this cruel and barbaric sport to take place.