Cockfighting Vs. Commercial Meat Chicken Production Essay, Research Paper
Cockfighting involves the pitting of two gamecocks in a fight, sometimes to the death. It is an activity that is illegal in most of the United States and is a quickly vanishing part of our culture. The sport is usually found revolting by most people in mainstream society, but has thousands of devotees nonetheless. Those involved in the sport of cockfighting are very dedicated to their pastime despite it’s rejection by the majority of Americans. Cockfighting is considered cruel and brutal by most people.
However, the commercial chicken industry slaughters millions of chickens every day to provide food throughout the world. Although vegetarians consider the consumption of chicken to be morally wrong, the majority of people in our culture find it to be a normal activity. Cockfighting is not as cruel and brutal then raising and slaughtering chickens for their meat.
Cockfighting is not cruel in any way. All male domestic fowl reach an age when they attain sexual maturity and the courage to fight. Gamecocks are not entered into cockfights until they are at least two years old. On the other hand, meat chickens have been genetically developed to grow quickly enough to be slaughtered at six weeks of age. If the gamecock was not bred in the first place, he would never have the opportunity to reach his courage day, which the meat chicken never lives to.
The will to survive is a natural instinct. Anyone that has seen chickens at a processing plant get killed knows that the chickens are terrified. However, fighting is something that comes natural to a gamecock. Anyone that has seen chickens at a processing plant get killed knows that the chickens are terrified, but the gamecock delights in the battle and is not scared of his opponent. The chickens in a slaughtering plant do not want any part in the process, but the gamecock fights due to his own natural instincts.
Gamecocks are given the very best of care. On the other hand, meat chickens are given the very minimum in care. Meat chickens are going to be killed at six weeks of age, so there is no reason to pamper them. Gamecocks are admired for their courage and are given expensive feed and grain mixtures and are provided fresh water and sunshine at all times. However, meat chickens never see a blade of grass and the only time they see sunshine is on a truck on their way to be killed and cut up. Meat chickens do not even have a mother. They are born in incubators, but gamecocks are hatched and raised by their natural mother, the hen. Gamecocks are raised in a natural environment, while meat chickens are raised in metal barns where they sometimes suffocate. Anyone that has seen these barns can testify that they are filthy and that the odor is repugnant. On the other hand, people that see where gamecocks are kept often are surprised by how clean and well-maintained the birds are.
I do not believe cockfighting is a form of animal cruelty. It is hypocrisy when someone eats chickens, but calls cockfighting cruel. Until we make vegetarianism mandatory, there is no reason for cockfighting to be illegal. A natural instinct should not be legislated by our government.