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Date Published: 20/01/2025

Cockfighting: a brutal blood sport still legal in parts of Spain

Canary Islands supporters claim the birds enjoy fighting because it’s “in their genes”

A recent theft of 136 roosters bred for fighting from a facility in Valladolid has once again shone the spotlight on the ‘sport’ of cockfighting in Spain, an ancient practice that is more than 2,500 years old and incredibly, still legal in parts of the country.

Animal rights group PACMA has been campaigning for the practice to be outlawed for years but the tradition still persists within the scope of the law in both Andalucía and the Canary Islands.

The new Animal Welfare Law that came into force in September 2023 expressly prohibits “the training and use of animals for fights and brawls with other animals or people.”

What's more, these pioneering regulations, so protective of animal rights, even threaten fines of up to 500 euros for owners who leave their dog tied up outside a supermarket, so it's hard to believe that cockfighting has a place in the Spanish legal system.

The trouble is that certain sections of the law have loopholes, and cockfighting sadly falls between the cracks. In Andalucía, for example, the blood sport is technically banned, unless it’s carried out on “authorised” where the birds are being bred.

In the Canary Islands, “cockfights may be held in those localities where they have traditionally been held” and as long as they meet some requirements, such as ensuring that the matches “are held in closed areas” and the “entry of minors under 16 years of age is prohibited.”

These fights are closely monitored by a table of judges and in most cases, the animals don’t actually die as their owners concede when it looks like the match is lost. However, sometimes the birds are killed.

“We estimate that between 5% and 10% of fights end with mortal wounds because just as a lion has claws and teeth, these cocks have natural weapons that can kill instantly, but the vast majority of cocks recover from their wounds, and very quickly, and can compete again,” pointed out José Luis Martín, president of the Canarian Cockfighting Federation.

Moreover, he insists that far from being cruel, cockfighting is a natural instinct for these birds, and even something they enjoy.

“The animal rights activists say that we force them, but that is absolutely false. It is prohibited by the regulations to incite them and it is also impossible to force a rooster to fight if it does not want to. What happens is that a fighting cock wants to fight, it has it in its genes, and just by seeing another cock at a distance where it can peck it, even if it is just a crack, it will go straight to fight against it,” Mr Martín said.

Spanish roosters are some of the most sought after in the world, valued for their aggressiveness. And while cockfighting is only legal in Andalucía and the Canary Islands, these fighting birds are bred on farms in practically every autonomous community in Spain.

The other problem, of course, is that illegal cockfights are still run on a daily basis all over the country, where the health and welfare of the birds isn’t monitored. The practice of clandestine fights is particularly rife in the Region of Murcia, where dozens of facilities have been shut down in recent years.

In other news: Two in intensive care after Spain ski lift collapse

Images: Policia Nacional/Archive

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