Not $PETA$ Approved
As a 60-year Alaskan Senior in exile in Philippines now two years, this writer is familiar with Alaska’s Sled Dog racing tradition–including the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race. By contrast my new exposure to cockfighting reveals a popular certified and regulated Philippines National Blood Sport.
[1] A blood sport is a category of sports or entertainment that causes bloodshed.
From the previous story:
A national community of caring exists here in the only Asian country that is majority Christian. Philippines is also Alaska’s best friend in the world.
[2] Great Living Two Years in Philippines, DONN LISTON December 7, 2024
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organization thinks sled dog racing is a blood sport. They are wrong and I have written before about why they are wrong. But appealing to USA fools about a race based on Northern Climate survival will bring more money than taking on this popular Asian pastime.
From the story:
Persons offended by brutal nature see only the unforeseen events out of the control of man or dog and react. Iditarod has been harmed by such insufferable people.
The Iditarod Race is under attack now for many years, as the organization that runs it struggles to respond to a predator organization while also conducting a phenomenal multifaceted sporting event. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has chosen the Iditarod Sled Dog Race as one of its primary fund-raising targets because such nonsense would not generate any income in countries that have practiced blood sport endeavors for hundreds of years.
[3] The Iditarod Challenge; Then & Now, DONN LISTON October 24, 2019
PETA Opposition to Asian Cockfighting is Futile
[4] PETA Website
Millions of Chickens are Killed Every Year for Human Consumption
Cockfighting is a business and national pastime.
The laws governing cockfighting in the Philippines include:
- Presidential Decree No. 449
The 1974 Cockfighting Law, also known as PD 449, established rules for legal cockfighting:
- Only Filipino citizens can own and operate cockpits.
- Cockfighting is only permitted on Sundays, holidays, and local fiestas, and is limited to three days.
- Cockpits must be constructed in accordance with zoning laws and cannot be near residential or public areas.
- Gambling is not allowed in cockpits during fights.
- Licenses are required for officials like referees, bet-takers, and gaffers.
- Local governments have the power to regulate cockfighting within their jurisdictions.
- Violations can result in fines or imprisonment.
- Local Government Code of 1991
Also known as RA 7160, this code repealed PD 449. However, it gave local government units (LGUs) the power to authorize and license cockpits, and to regulate cockfighting.
The Government of the City of Antipolo approved renewal of the franchise of Manuel S. Ko to operate and manage a cockpit arena at the new Antipolo Coliseum on May 10, 2023.
[5] Antipolo City Ordinance NO. 2023-1073
I have about 30 cocks right now, said farmer Dieon, standing next to a cage with one of the hens. Last Saturday we had a champion in Laguna.
Raising Value-Added Chickens Requires Special Food and Care Just as Iditarod Race Dogs Require
[6] Cockfighting Philippines; National Passion
Anybody can purchase a cock from Dieon and take it to a cockpit for battle. The birds are ready to fight in nine to ten months and cost about 10,000 pesos (est $175.00) to purchase.
My father taught me about this business. He would have as many as 100 at a time, Dieon continued. My siblings aren’t involved–they live in USA.
From the previously referenced story:
Before entering the battle roosters are armed with blades (like the ones in the picture) to ensure that the fight is lethal for at least one of the combatants. The blades are very sharp and long, around 7cm. There are two kinds of knives used in Philippine cockfighting: single-edged blades (used in derbies) and double-edged blades; lengths of knives also vary. All knives are attached on the left leg of the bird, but depending on agreement between owners, blades can be attached to the right or even on both legs.
National Hero Jose Rizal wrote about Cockfighting
- José Rizal (1861-1896) was a political activist, ophthalmologist, and intellectual.
- He is considered a Philippine national hero.
- His political writings inspired the Philippine Revolution.
- The Spanish colonizers executed him.
Select paragraphs describing cockfighting from rom Rizal’s book Noli-Me-Tangere (The Social Cancer):
On one side is the gateway, generally tended by an old woman whose business it is to collect the sa pintu, or admission fee. Of this contribution, which every one pays, the government receives a part, amounting to some hundreds of thousands of pesos a year. It is said that with this money, with which vice pays its license, magnificent schoolhouses are erected, bridges and roads are constructed, prizes for encouraging agriculture and commerce are distributed: blessed be the vice that produces such good results!
This (entryway) enclosure communicates with another of somewhat larger dimensions,—a kind of foyer where the public gathers while waiting for the combats. There are the greater part of the fighting-cocks tied with cords which are fastened to the ground by means of a piece of bone or hard wood; there are assembled the gamblers, the devotees, those skilled in tying on the gaffs, there they make agreements, they deliberate, they beg for loans, they curse, they swear, they laugh boisterously. That one fondles his chicken, rubbing his hand over its brilliant plumage, this one examines and counts the scales on its legs, they recount the exploits of the champions.
There you will see many with mournful faces carrying by the feet corpses picked of their feathers; the creature that was the favorite for months, petted and cared for day and night, on which were founded such flattering hopes, is now nothing more than a carcass to be sold for a peseta or to be stewed with ginger and eaten that very night. Sic transit gloria mundi! The loser returns to the home where his anxious wife and ragged children await him, without his money or his chicken. Of all that golden dream, of all those vigils during months from the dawn of day to the setting of the sun, of all those fatigues and labors, there results only a peseta, the ashes left from so much smoke.
From this place one passes into the arena, which is known as the Rueda, the wheel. The ground here, surrounded by bamboo-stakes, is usually higher than that in the two other divisions. In the back part, reaching almost to the roof, are tiers of seats for the spectators, or gamblers, since these are the same. During the fights these seats are filled with men and boys who shout, clamor, sweat, quarrel, and blaspheme—fortunately, hardly any women get in this far. In the Rueda are the men of importance, the rich, the famous bettors, the contractor, the referee. On the perfectly leveled ground the cocks fight, and from there Destiny apportions to the families smiles or tears, feast or famine.
The difference between Iditarod sled dog racing and cockfighting is so stark that bleeding hearts like PETA dare NOT challenge the millions who find enjoyment from fighting chickens. instead PETA exploits foolish westerners.
References:
[1] A blood sport is a category of sports or entertainment that causes bloodshed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodsport_(disambiguation)
[2] Great Living Two Years in Philippines, DONN LISTON December 7, 2024
https://listondonn.ph/great-living-two-years-in-philippines/
[3] The Iditarod Challenge; Then and Now, DONN LISTON
https://donnliston.net/wp-admin/post.php?post=1026&action=edit
[4] PETA Website
https://www.peta.org/
[5] City Ordinance NO. 2023-1073
[6] Cockfighting Philippines; National Passion
