cockfighting

18 Stories

After Shooting, Hawaii Plans to Crack Down on Cockfights

5 were shot, 2 fatally after fight early Saturday

(Newser) - Police in Hawaii have vowed to step up illegal gambling enforcement after one of the most serious shootings in state history called attention to the dangers that come with cockfighting, which has deep roots in the islands and remains popular despite being illegal. The shooting early Saturday in a rural...

Gunmen Open Fire at Cockfight
Gunmen Kill 20 at Cockfight
UPDATED

Gunmen Kill 20 at Cockfight

Police say Mexico City assailants used a fish-and-chips van for camouflage

(Newser) - Update: Police investigating a mass shooting in Mexico's Michoacan state that left 20 people dead say the gunmen staged their ambush by hiding in a fish-and-chips van, reports the BBC . The assailants drove to a ranch that was home to an illegal cockfighting ring in a food van that...

Federal Court: Cockfighting Not a Right in US Territories

Appeals court upholds Guam ban

(Newser) - In one of his lesser-known moves, then-President Trump signed a law in 2018 banning cockfighting in all US territories, 11 years after Louisiana became the final state to ban the practice. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled against Guam businessman Sedfrey Linsangan, who argued the ban was unconstitutional because...

Knife-Wielding Rooster Kills Owner in Cockfight

India man killed by bird strapped with blade

(Newser) - While banned for being inhumane to animals, an event in India recently wound up costing the life of a human being. BBC reports that a man in the village of Lothunur in Telangana state had outfitted his rooster with a knife to ready it for an illegal cockfight last week...

Cop Dies in Encounter With Rooster
Cop Dies
in Encounter
With Rooster

Cop Dies in Encounter With Rooster

Filipino officer was breaking up a cockfight when he was struck with a gaff

(Newser) - Police officers in the Philippines are mourning the loss of one of their own, killed in an encounter with a rooster. Lieutenant Christian Bolok was breaking up an illegal cockfight in San Jose, Northern Samar province, on Monday when he picked up a rooster and was struck in his left...

California Cops Find Thousands of Cockfighting Roosters

Hundreds of other animals were rescued from Los Angeles property

(Newser) - As many as 3,000 cockfighting roosters were rescued from a California ranch this week as part of an investigation into animal cruelty. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said 2,000 to 3,000 roosters were kept on the multi-acre ranch in Los Angeles' Chatsworth area, where a...

Romanian Princess: I Ran Cockfighting Ring

Irina Walker, husband plead guilty to running illegal gambling operation

(Newser) - "Romanian princess" and "cockfighting" probably aren’t the two terms you were expecting to hear together today, but Irina Walker just made that happen— again . The 61-year-old daughter of the last king of Romania and her husband, John, pleaded guilty yesterday to running an illegal gambling operation from...

3K Birds Saved in NY Cockfight Crackdown

'Operation Angry Birds' smashes NY ring

(Newser) - Some 3,000 birds were rescued and nine felony arrests were made in a huge cockfighting crackdown that officials in New York state called "Operation Angry Birds." In a New York City raid, at least 70 NYPD officers accompanied by state troopers raided a basement cockfighting operation as...

Princess Busted for ... Cockfighting?

Irina Walker charged in two-state cockfighting ring bust

(Newser) - The princess and the ... rooster? A Romanian princess and her husband (a former sheriff's deputy) were arrested in Oregon yesterday in connection with an alleged two-state cockfighting ring. Some 26 others were detained across Oregon and Washington. Prosecutors allege John and Irina Walker, daughter of King Michael I, held...

Cockfighting Rooster Stabs, Kills Man

Victim Jose Luis Ochoa fled, later died from calf wound

(Newser) - A recent cockfight in California killed five roosters … and one man. Jose Luis Ochoa, 35, died after being stabbed in the right calf by the blade attached to one of the fighting birds, the Bakersfield Californian reports. Ochoa and others fled after an anonymous caller tipped the sheriff’s...

1K Roosters Put Down After Cockfighting Bust

Creatures had to be euthanized due to aggressive nature

(Newser) - There are mysterious animal deaths , and then there are just tragic ones. In California, the weekend bust of a cockfighting ring led to the deaths of about 1,000 roosters. The Ventura County Star reports that the roosters had to be euthanized due to their aggressive nature. Two men were...

19 Men Busted in Canary Fight Ring
19 Men Busted in
Canary Fight Ring

19 Men Busted in Canary Fight Ring

(Newser) - Police busted 19 men suspected of operating a canary fight ring in Connecticut, reports WFSB TV. Some 150 canaries and saffron finches were confiscated in Shelton. “There were 100 canaries fighting, and they were betting on them 'til they were dead. It’s absolutely shocking,” said a neighbor....

Connecticut Catches Cock Fight Fever

Police baffled over recent arrests for bloody sport

(Newser) - New England is hardly a cockfighting hot spot, but Connecticut might be turning into one, the Boston Globe reports. Since 2005 Hartford-area police have made at least five major cockfighting busts, arresting about 80 people and seizing more than $88,000. Police aren’t sure if that means cockfighting is...

Cockfighting Raid Nabs 73 in NC

One rooster splattered blood on search warrant

(Newser) - North Carolina police arrested 73 people in an unexpectedly huge cockfighting raid over the weekend, crashing a barbaric $40,000 tournament in which a combatant rooster bloodied the search warrant, the AP reports. “I had no idea it would be this large,” the sheriff said. “I've raided...

Secrets of A Christmas Story
 Secrets of A Christmas Story 

Secrets of A Christmas Story

(Newser) - A Christmas Story is beloved by all, as evidenced by the enduring Christmas Eve marathons on TBS. But there are probably some things you don’t know about the timeless flick. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer runs down 25 of them.
  • The Cleveland house used for exterior shots is now a museum
...

Cockfighting Fans in La. Say Goodbye

State is last to ban centuries-old sport; aficionados protest

(Newser) - Louisiana became the last state to outlaw cockfighting today, and fans of the activity are mourning the loss of what they see as a cultural pastime, reports the Washington Post. Animal rights supporters praise the crackdown, but cockfight enthusiasts say the law will just push the show underground. Says one...

Cockfight Mag Forced Off Amazon.com
Cockfight Mag Forced Off Amazon.com

Cockfight Mag Forced Off Amazon.com

Humane Society sued, said publication boosted illegal sport

(Newser) - In a victory for the Humane Society, the publisher of The Gamecock has agreed to stop selling its publication on Amazon.com. The anti-animal cruelty group had sued Amazon to remove the magazine—which it says promote cockfighting—from its site, charging the online retailer with violating federal law, the...

Marichal, Mets' Martinez Shown at Cockfight

Pitchers were honorary starters of event in Dominican Republic

(Newser) - Video of Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal at a cockfight in their native Dominican Republic—where the practice is legal—was briefly available on YouTube today, the New York Post reports. The pair is seen enjoying themselves and even throwing the chickens into the ring...

18 Stories
Most Read on Newser