Cockfighting is not birds doing what they naturally want to

There is a fabulous article on the front page of the Friday, July 15, Wall Street Journal, which smashes the myth that the "sport" of cockfighting is just a matter of letting the birds do what they naturally want to. The article is also in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The opening lines mention a rooster's "drug-habit," referring to the birds being injected with testosterone and methamphetamines to make them fight:

"Felipe, an orange-feathered rooster from Pennsylvania, faced near-certain death when police busted his cockfighting match on a rural compound in 2001. Instead, he checked into the Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary. After three weeks of psychological treatment, the 1 1/2-foot-tall fowl kicked his drug habit and stopped picking fights. Today, he lives peacefully with 200 other feathered residents at the center, often cozying up to a flock of Florida hens.

We read what happens to other birds:
"Felipe was lucky. Most of the millions of roosters bred for cockfighting in the U.S. face a gruesome end. If they're not slaughtered during combat, they are often euthanized after police break up illegal tournaments. Cockfights are legal only in Louisiana and New Mexico, but illegal combats and betting are common throughout the country, where there are an estimated 100,000 gamecock breeders. The fights, which take place in an enclosed area, end when one of the duelers dies or one of the handlers concedes victory. They can last more than 30 minutes and can generate tens of thousands of dollars in winnings."

And we learn how they are made to fight:
"To prepare the birds, breeders trim their combs, wattles and earlobes to reduce weight. They inject the roosters with testosterone and methamphetamines and snip their spurs -- nails on the back of rooster legs -- replacing them with 3-inch steel blades. The roosters fly up into the air and dig the blades into rivals' flesh."

According to the article "Fight survivors are generally considered too violent to be saved" but we read that Pattrice Jones, from the Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary, says that even the most difficult birds take just a matter of weeks to pacify. She says, "After they're rehabbed, they end up being the sweetest roosters here."

The article tells us about her techniques and about the sanctuary she co-founded. To learn more about the sanctuary go to: http://www.BraveBirds.org

The full front page article, by Amir Efrati, headed "When Bad Chickens Come Home to Roost the Results Can be Good" is on line at: http://tinyurl.com/apa4b The Journal says that link will be good till Friday July 22. But the same article in also on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website at:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05196/538553.stm headed, "Drugged gamecocks rehab at chicken sanctuary."

The article coincides nicely with one just posted to Discovery.com http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050711/chicken.html headed, "Study: Chickens Think About Future." It lets us know that the minds of chickens are far more complex than most people assume.

This front page story opens the door for appreciative letters to the editor that address any aspect of how we treat members of other species -- those we use for human entertainment and those we use for food. The Wall Street Journal takes letters at: wsj.ltrs [at] wsj.com

Those from Pittsburgh should write to the Post-Gazette. That paper takes letters at:
http://www.post-gazette.com/contact/comments_form.asp?ID=40

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)