Rooster (Murgha) wrestling
Cockfighting
Cockfighting—a blood sport in which roosters are placed in a ring and forced to fight to the death for the “amusement” of onlookers—is illegal throughout the United States.
‘Tested With Steel’
Roosters are born, raised, and trained to fight on “game farms.” Breeders (also called “cockers”) kill the birds they deem inferior, keeping only the birds who are “game,” meaning willing to fight. Many of these birds spend most of their lives tethered by one leg near inadequate shelter, such as a plastic barrel or small cage. Breeders “condition” the birds to fight through physical work, including attaching weights or blades to their legs for “practice fights” with other roosters, a process that cockfighters call being “tested with steel.”
Breeders often pluck the birds’ feathers and hack off the roosters’ wattles and/or combs (the flesh at the top of their heads and under their beaks) to prevent other roosters from tearing them off in the ring. Since roosters do not have sweat glands, losing these body parts deprives them of the ability to cool themselves. Some “cockers” cut off the birds’ spurs, which are the natural bony protrusions on the legs, so that more deadly, artificial weapons can be strapped to their legs. Law enforcement officials have found performance-enhancing drugs during raids.
What Happens at Cockfights
Cockfights are usually held in round or square enclosures called “cockpits” or simply “pits.” One eyewitness described a fight this way: “With neck feathers fanned and wings whirring, the birds jump and parry at each other. They kick and duel in mid-air, striking at each other with feet and beak.”
If the fighting wanes, handlers pick up the birds and blow on their backs, yank at their beaks, or hold them beak-to-beak in an attempt to work them back into a frenzy. The birds are then put back in the pits, and the fight doesn’t end until one rooster is dead or nearly dead. “Losing” birds are often discarded in a barrel or trashcan near the game pit, even if they’re still alive.