Free Republic

EDCOUCH, Texas (AP) — Masked gunmen opened fire during an illegal cockfight at a Texas ranch near Mexico early Thursday, killing three people and wounding eight others in what authorities described as a bloody massacre. The attack at the ranch near Edcouch, a town about 15 miles northeast of McAllen, happened shortly after midnight and sent spectators fleeing from the makeshift bleachers surrounding the fighting ring into the brush. Authorities were searching for the attackers and for clues as to their possible motives, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. Homer Jasso, the justice of the peace for that area of...

Compromise outlaws practice in 13 months BATON ROUGE -- The long, controversial history of legal cockfighting will come to an end in Louisiana -- and the United States -- on Aug. 15, 2008, if Gov. Kathleen Blanco signs a bill sent to her by lawmakers Wednesday. The practice of pitting specially bred roosters in fight-to-the-death matches has been condemned for years by animal rights activists and others as cruel and barbaric. When New Mexico outlawed the events earlier this year, Louisiana was the only state in which it is allowed. That will remain the case for at least the next...

Spectators shake their fists, scream out wagers and cheer on their roosters, the air swirling with cigarette smoke and chicken feathers. Saturday night in Breaux Bridge means rooster fights at the Atchafalaya Game Club, one of dozens of cockfighting venues in Louisiana -- soon to be the last state where the practice is legal. Fans from around the country pay $10 and settle into padded seats overlooking the pit, where two roosters peck and claw each other, often to the death. But this Louisiana tradition -- long decried by animal rights activists as cruel and barbaric -- may be coming...

AUSTIN — Spurred by the biggest dogfight bust in recent Texas history — in eastern Bexar County last January — a San Antonio lawmaker is trying to increase penalties for those who engage in or profit from rooster and dog bouts. Under the proposal, House Bill 2222 by Democratic Rep. Jose Menendez, people involved in dogfights or cockfights or who share in their earnings or allow their property to be used for them could be charged with a state jail felony. Currently such offenses are misdemeanors. The bill also would increase the penalty for being a spectator at such events...

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. – Dozens of chickens were rescued, but dozens more put down. Police raided two locations in Mountlake Terrace after accusations of an illegal cockfighting ring. The roosters and hens were found in the backyards of two separate homes – about one hundred birds in all. An animal rescue group on the scene said there were telltale signs the roosters were raised for cockfighting. They're housed in wooden teepees to separate them from the other birds. “They raise them in tight quarters where they are encouraged to fight. They cut their spurs off and replace them with razor...