While in the Philippines we went to Puerto Galera to watch the cockfights. We had seen roosters everywhere and when we asked about them Jerry (the worlds best divemaster) had offered to take us.
Cockfighting is still legal in the Philippines in the same way that bullfighting is still legal in Spain. It is a popular sport. The stadium we visited was well built with an enthusiastic crowd shouting for the birds. Here is a video I took of the fights:
My personal opinion is mixed on this issue. In the USA we eat chickens that were raised in little cages. Most of the roosters (males) are killed as soon as their sex can be determined. If chickens could think the roosters would probably choose to live until they were young adults and die a warriors death rather than die as infants.
In the western world we have insulated ourselves from the need to see the death of the animals we eat. I’m not sure that this is a good thing. Having said all that if there were a ballot measure to make cockfighting legal in California I would vote against it. But I must say that in the Philippines it did not seem to be a terrible or unnatural thing.
What do you think?