The game is very popular despite opposition from animal rights groups (Jeffrey Maitham / Getty)
Denis de la Cruz smiled broadly as he watched his roosters strike their opponents, amidst the spectacle of flying feathers and blood and the tumultuous atmosphere in a room set aside for the fights of these chickens in Philippines.
Arenas are back cockfight In the Philippines, its business is fully operational, after a two-year forced hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemicClashes broke out across the archipelago.
These traditional fights known as “saponge”, which are banned in a number of countries, are very popular in the Philippines and bring millions of dollars in bets every week.
Roosters with prosthetic metal claws on their legs fight to the death, to the applause of mostly male spectators.
“In our village, more than half of the people fight their roosters,” de la Cruz, 64, told AFP during a recent tournament in San Pedro, south of the capital, Manila.
De la Cruz, the son of a fighting hall director, never had a steady job, but lived on the earnings of the roosters raised by his nephew.
University of the Philippines anthropologist Chester Cabalza said cockfighting is one of the rare “neutral spaces” where rich and poor mingle and play by the same rules in a highly unequal society.
With hand gestures, such as those used by stockbrokers, spectators who adhere to a strict code of conduct place their bets during a match that cannot last more than a minute.
A fan told AFP that a single match often yields between 300,000 and 400,000 pesos (between 5,000 and 6,700 US dollars) in bets.
The winning bettor receives the money after the games are over, which are up to 15 games per hour.
Rooster gambling halls are expected to be equipped with betting machines from now on, so winners can get their money without mingling too much with the crowd.
Edwin Lombres, who works in the bird farming business, said: “If a rooster wins, its owner comes out of the ring with a picture of him being a strong man. But if he loses, he lowers his head and walks out.”
Fans of this tradition defend its continuation, describing it as an integral part of national culture “.
On the other hand, Caterina del Espirito Santo of the Association for the ethical treatment of animals fights for the prohibition of the game, which she describes as brutal, as “the birds are forced to fight to the death”.
But the efforts of activists in the Philippines do not lead to significant results, as fighting cocks are still very popular in the archipelago and can reach between 3,000 and 15,000 pesos (between 50 and 250 US dollars), depending on the breed they come from. .
Fighting roosters are kept in cages outside homes in urban areas or in triangle-shaped pens on farms.
When wrestling halls closed at the start of the pandemic, many small breeders who could no longer feed their animals were forced to sell them at low prices, or to eat them. Others admitted that they had violated the measures that had been taken and that they had organized matches to make ends meet.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte has issued permits to organize online battles, with the aim of reviving this tradition and providing income for the state treasury emptied by the pandemic.
The battles of Isaponge took place in arenas with no audience, matches were broadcast or broadcast 24/7, while spectators wagered using their cell phones.
The popularity of this game has increased dramatically, as have the earnings. The government’s monthly entrance fee was around 640 million pesos (about $ 10 million), according to its then president.
Charlie Ang, who runs the Lucky Star 8 Quest, told a Senate investigative commission that Filipinos wager a total of between one and two billion pesos ($ 17 to 34 million) on his platform daily, or about 95% of all bets, as explained.
But 34 employees working in this sector were lost this year and local media reported the suicides of debt-ridden gamblers. Duterte, under pressure, ended up halting online wrestling matches shortly before his term expired last June.
After easing pandemic measures, local governments have gradually allowed traditional wrestling halls to resume their activities, which brings relief to millions of Filipinos.
“People were upset that their favorite hobby had been taken away from them,” said Dundon Clanor, 45, a lore enthusiast. “Now everyone is happy”.
(AFP)
