5 Facts About Illegal Louisiana Cockfighting

People in Louisiana want you to keep your laws off their cock!

Until August 2008, Louisiana was the last state in America where cockfighting was still legal. For those not in-the-know, cockfighting is the centuries-old blood sport where two gamecocks are placed in ring and fight it out to the death. Those watching bet on which bird will win. Despite that fact that cockfighting is illegal, it still goes on. I ventured to Louisiana in order to give some tips on how they do this godawful sport.

1. The birds are fitted with Freddy Krueger-style claw spikes to ensure bloody carnage, while sometimes injected with crystal meth to facilitate aggressive fighting. (If anyone’s seen a meth-head panhandling, you know how that goes).

2. For “family-friendly” cockfighting, they put the covers over the gaffs of the chicken’s claws so they don’t stab the other chicken – just simply torture them.

3. KFC chickens get 45 days to live. A gamecock has two years to live before he has a chance to fight for his life. Each rooster is fighting for his territory in the pit. Before the match, they will get them beak-to-beak in order to get them angry at each other. This is called “pitting the chickens against each other.”

4. To start the match, once again the roosters’ heads are thrown together to rile them up. With loud flapping from their wings, the roosters, momentarily pulled apart, are set down and let loose. The winner is the last bird standing.

5. If anyone ever criticizes cockfighting, bring up the fact that George Washington was into cockfighing. If that doesn’t impress them, mention that several other presidents were also into cockfighting. If that doesn’t work, slap them and tell them to “grow the f**k up!” That works every time. 

Harmon Leon is the author of The American Dream