Last weekend Spanish police raided an illegal cockpit in the town of Callosa de Segura in Alicante, arresting forty-six people, including organisers and spectators, according to a press note published by the Interior Ministry. Gamecocks, with amputated crests and drugged with amphetamines, caffeine and strychnine to encourage aggresivity, were pitted against each other, drawing weekend crowds from the nearby city of Valencia and surrounding towns. The entrance fee was 10 euros and wagers were high at between 300 and 600 euros per fight, although in the so-called “million-euro fights” bets could reach 10,000 euros.
The investigation codenamed Operation Crest was initiated a month ago when police started looking into a cultural association for the breeding and exportation of Spanish gamecocks.
Although breeding and exporting gamecocks in Spain is legal, cockfighting is one of the bloodsports that is banned in Spain, except in the Canary Islands where it is considered a tradition. It is also permitted in parts of Andalusia for the same reasons, but with restrictions.
Animal rights activists are concerned about the future of the surviving gamebirds at Callosa de Segura. After a similar police raid in Murcia last year the animal rights group, Igualdad Animal reported how 170 freed gamecocks were delivered by the police to a local zoo. However these birds were trained to fight to the death, and even with bound feet, they managed to attack each other with beaks and spurs. Twenty were dead within 24 hours. The rest were returned to their owner.
During the raid in Callosa de Segura last week, police uncovered 7,000 euros in cash, aggresivity-inducing drugs, tools for sharpening spurs, and spurs belonging to hundreds of dead birds.
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