More than 400 people fled a Dallas, Texas, area rage-roid cock fight when the coppers moved in.

According to the Associated Press, 100 misdemeanor tickets were issued while 3 others face felony charges of engaging in organized crime. Syringes were found which authorities believe were used to inject steroids into the rage-roid cock fighters.

According to the BC SPCA, roosters are territorial animals who “fight for dominance” within a group, but the fights “rarely” end in death.

Game-cocks are roosters which are bred for the specific purpose of fighting. In cockfighting, game-cock’s legs are outfitted with “razor sharp steel blades” called gaffes. The most common injuries to the birds include “broken bones, pierced eyes, bloody slashes and punctured lungs”. The birds are also subjected to having their “sensitive” combs and spur-claws “crudely and painfully cut off” then constantly “tied to a tether” near other cocks, causing “prolonged frustration”. Cock fighting is illegal except in Louisiana and New Mexico.

The Houston Police Department raided a man who allegedly raised game-cocks to sell to purchasers from Louisiana at $100 to $200 per bird. Authorities also discovered “cock fighting steroids”.

In August, a Brooklyn, New York, apartment was raided where police discovered a “cock fighting facility”. Some of the birds found in the raid came from Puerto Rico and had their combs cut off and their bodies shaved. Also found in the raid were syringes, steroids, and a training wheel.

“”He’s the Rocky Balboa of the chicken world,” one investigator quipped of Corchado.”

Former boxing champ Roy Jones Jr. raised game cocks on a farm in Pensacola, Florida, for cock fights staged in Louisiana. A 2007 federal law made it illegal to transport game cocks across state lines.

The 2007 World Slasher Cup II

According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the Philippines is the site for “high-stakes” cockfighting. With a purse of $55,000, and world championship titles on the line, entries come from Japan, Germany, and the United States.

A boxing ring that once showcased a fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier during the “Thrilla in Manila”, is now the site for world champion cock fights. The 8 “cock” teams are billed with monikers such as “God of War”, “Air Assault”, and “Deep Impact”.

“Filipinos were fighting cocks before Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan came ashore in 1521. This year, more than 5 million roosters will clash in the country’s cockpits.”

Cock fighting is a billion dollar industry in the Philippines.

In 2001 a veternarian, Dr. William Clayton Potter, D.V.M, was convicted of illegal distribution of steroids for human use. One witness testified the steroids were bought for game-cocks in order to increase the size and strength of the birds.

We found an online forum which gave instructions on anabolic steroid use in game-cocks including what anabolics are, how to administer them, the proper dosage, and the side-effects.

Anabolic Steroids are compounds related to testosterone but possessing protein anabolic activity with minimal musculinizing effects. Therapeutic indications of anabolic steroids are the following:
1. Convalescence after surgery;
2. Growth promotion;
3. Masculinizing effect;
4. Aplastic anemia;
5. Increase vigor and appetite.

In fighting cocks, the most common indications or therapeutic use are:
1. Increasing muscle due to increase protein glycogen content;
2. Treatment of aplastic anemia due to stimulation of renal and extra-renal erythropoiletin and extra-renal erythropoietin production.

Another member of the forum wrote about his experience in using steroids on his birds:

I haven’t used slazbolak but i have used androbol in conditioning.Given one tab a week for two or three weeks helped our fowls to get rid of unwanted fats and build muscles at much faster rate than lone exercise.The lesser fats they have the quicker they move and the more muscles they have the stronger they are.In short it makes them leaner.

There you have it, steroids make a game-cock, leaner, stronger, and faster for his future “fight to the death”. Cocks fights are staged as gambling events. The 400 who fled the cockfight in Dallas had paid $20 per ticket and could bet on the fights.

By LBG

Image – Rooster