Investigating Animal Cruelty 53 would not be matched against cocks wearing knives except as a novelty event). Before the fight, the handler will trim out a rooster, which usually includes shortening the long tail feathers (sickle feathers) and wing primaries and removing some back, saddle and vent area plumage with the intent to reduce some of the bird’s weight and the possibility of overheating during a fight. After arriving at the pit site, each cockfighter keeps his roosters separate to avoid prefight excitement. Some pit operators assign rooms or rent out cockhouses (if available) for this purpose. After fighters select their entries, the roosters are weighed (usually recorded on a weight sheet) and banded with a numbered band. On average, fighting cocks weigh between four and six pounds and are matched against a bird of equal weight, with just two to three ounces difference. After all roosters are weighed and matched, the fighters pay an entry fee that can range from $100 to more than $1,000. All the entry fees go into a common pot that makes up the purse. The pit owner also charges an admission fee for spectators, usually $5 to $25, which is used to pay for such expenses as utilities, the referee’s fee (perhaps $100 a day plus expenses at major pits), security precautions and the costs of pit maintenance and disposal of the dead fowl. Indoor pit sites usually include at least one main pit and are sometimes equipped with bleachers or chairs. The main pit usually has a diameter of 15 to 20 feet. Pits may be rectangular or circular in design, with walls to a height of about three feet, and constructed of such materials as cement blocks, Plexiglas®, plywood, canvas or bales of hay. Pit floors are usually dirt or clay and may be raised so that the first row of bleachers does not obstruct the view from other rows. Some pits are portable, making a permanent building unnecessary. Larger established pit sites often have one main pit and one or more smaller arenas referred to as drag pits. They frequently include such amenities as theater-style seating, air conditioning, restrooms, overhead lighting for night fights, public address systems, concession stands and booths for vendors, parking facilities and cockhouses. As their numbers are called, the cockers are requested to heel the matched roosters for the first fight and report to the pit. Heeling is the act of attaching the steel gaffs to the roosters’ legs. Since the natural spur is cut off except for a half-inch stump, strips of Specialized cases How fighting cocks are typically housed (left); implements (razor-sharp slashes and icepick-like gaffs) that are designed to mutilate and puncture (right)
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