This is why people make fun of Oklahoma.

[grbh]

Link


Voters to Weigh in on Cockfighting Ban
Thu Oct 31, 9:02 AM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma voters will decide next week whether to ban cockfighting after a heated campaign between animal activists and grass roots organizations who say the blood sport is a part of rural tradition.

Oklahoma is one of three U.S. states -- along with Louisiana and New Mexico -- that allows cockfighting. If voters support the measure, cockfighting, as well as raising fighting roosters or owning cockfighting equipment, would become a felony.

Polling indicates the cockfighting ban will easily pass.

"We are very positive about the outcome of the election," said Cynthia Armstrong, campaign manager for the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting, the group responsible for collecting enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

Armstrong and others campaigning for the ban have argued cockfighting is inhumane and allowing the blood-sport spectacle is bad for Oklahoma's image.

"Our polls show that most Oklahomans, rural or urban, would vote for a ban on cockfighting," Armstrong said.

Game fowl breeders, whose chicken farms dot the rural parts of the state, argue that cockfighting is no more cruel than the slaughter of chicken by the poultry industry. They say the measure is part of a larger agenda by animal rights groups to ban other activities.

"They are also after the rodeos, hunting, fishing, 4H shows, rattlesnake hunts, and circuses," said Judy Hamilton, owner-manager of the Texoma Game Club, which supports the sport.

"I believe Oklahomans will stand up for their values, heritage and way of life," Hamilton said.

An Oklahoma appeals court handed down a decision in 1963 that legalized cockfighting when it said a fowl is not an animal, and therefore not protected by state laws against animal fighting.

A cockfight pits two specially bred roosters, armed with razor-sharp spurs, against each other in a battle to the death. Although it is illegal to gamble on cockfighting in Oklahoma, betting usually takes place.

The state's cockfighting industry claims an income of $100 million per year, mostly from exports of fighting fowl to countries that allow cockfighting, such as the Philippines.

[Drbio]

I guess if the cockfights are banned, then everyone will have to grab their cocks and make peace. Or somesuch.

[southern_sweets]

[qThe state's cockfighting industry claims an income of $100 million per year, mostly from exports of fighting fowl to countries that allow cockfighting, such as the Philippines.[/i] >>



They don't need to fight the ban. They just need an accountant. If most of the $100 million comes from exporting it wouldn't matter if the fights were banned, only raising the fowl.

Let's think about this. The only reason this "sport" takes place is the revenue generated from "gambling" (which is illegal in OK) that likely exceeds greatly the $100 million. Maybe they should legalize gambling and learn how to play poker.