Cockfighting

Cockfighting, sport of placing specially trained gamecocks in a pit or on a stage to fight each other. The cocks are placed beak to beak and then released, fighting until one is killed, can fight no longer, or refuses to fight. Often the cocks are equipped with silver or steel spurs. Betting on the outcome of fights is usual.

Cockfighting was practiced extensively in ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome. Popular in England for centuries, it was prohibited by Parliament in 1849. It is illegal in most of the United States. Cockfighting is still popular today in parts of Asia and Latin America.