According to zodiac folklore, roosters are independent and persistent animals that hate to fail -- characteristics that lead the bird to fight to death. Symbolizing strength, courage and trustworthiness, roosters are said to be spiritually connected with the sun -- "yang" in Chinese culture.
Roosters are also strongly connected with the brutal sport of cockfighting. In ancient China, where cockfighting has its roots, emperors and commoners revered such fights as entertainment. In Western culture, cockfighting is said to date back to the ancient Greeks.
Today, cockfights are only legal in two U.S. states: New Mexico and Louisiana. Though many counties in New Mexico have banned the sport, it continues to thrive without opposing statewide legislation. Two weeks ago, police investigated a home in southern Phoenix containing more than 100 roosters. With a number already dead or wounded and with razors and steroids strewn about, there's little question that cockfighting extends beyond New Mexico's borders.
In Louisiana, the United Gamefowl Breeders Association, a national cockfighting group, estimates there are about 100,000 people who breed gamecocks and contend that Louisiana could lose $206 million in business if out-of-state cockfighters can't bring their birds there to fight.
Sunset, La., is home to the largest cockfighting pit in the United States. The arena has a glass-enclosed ring with about 600 surrounding seats for raucous fans.
Armed with sharp metal knives that measure up to 3 inches long and doped on drugs that clot their blood and intensify their aggression, two male roosters combat in a ring of betting spectators as they fight to the death. The birds pierce each other with sharp knives and fight through pain and injury until either they have killed their opponent or are dead.
During a cockfight, men bet, drink and watch roosters fight to a bloody death. There is no hunt. There is no mercy. There is no sport.
The victims aren't only the roosters, though, because the sport claims numerous casualties: Children are exposed to vicious displays of violence; grown men lose money in illegal gambling rings; humanity loses a little respect for the value of life.
Proponents of cockfights claim the sport is a part of their cultural heritage and integral to preserving traditions, but they fail to realize that some traditions become outdated and socially unacceptable. And while the fights certainly bring in a small amount of money to the states through tourism, the money is not worth the brutality against innocent animals.
Certainly, Cajuns and Hispanics from rural areas have been involved with roosters and cockfights for much of their lives and perceive them as a cultural tradition. And legislators must try to preserve respectable cultural traditions without alienating local customs. But cockfighting is simply not a respectable tradition.
In New Mexico and Louisiana, polls conducted by animal rights groups have shown the voters' strong desire to rid their respective states of cockfights. Polls have shown that 60 percent or more of the New Mexico electorate are in favor of a ban.
However, legislation failed to pass through the New Mexico Senate in 2003 despite overwhelming support for the measure in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Louisiana House of Representatives continually avoids passing a bill that would eliminate cockfights and have once again trapped bills to ban cockfights in committees.
The Year of the Rooster is a perfect time for state legislators to pass bills that would ban cockfighting. One danger, of course, is that cockfights could go underground. It has to be better, though -- to force cockfights into the dark where eventually they'll disappear -- than to have them shining under the spotlight.
It's time to wake up to the rooster.
Ty Thompson is a journalism sophomore. For information on how to help alleviate cockfighting, reach him at tyler.w.thompson@asu.edu.
