Feathers fly over Thailand's lucrative cockfighting pits

The cry of roosters drowns out the roar of engines beneath a Bangkok flyover as all eyes are trained on two sparring birds, a bloody, high stakes battle in a country where cockfighting is big business.

The birds do not usually fight to the death, as in many parts of the world, but they can still inflict fatal damage to their opponents in contests almost always accompanied by lucrative gambling.

For the few dozen men surrounding a technically illegal but tolerated underpass ring, cockfighting is as much a generations-old Thai tradition as it is commerce.

“Probably it’s genetic as my parents like cockfighting too,” a 42-year-old electrician from the Northeast’s Loei province  says as he cradles his battered but still-standing “Little Red” at half-time.

Like most of the working-class men priming their roosters, the pony-tailed and tattooed man – who withheld his name – began cockfighting in his rural birthplace before bringing the hobby to the heart of the capital where he now lives.

While they risk up to two years in jail for gambling at an unregistered ring, authorities routinely turn a blind eye to such activities. Thailand is dotted with much larger, official cockfighting stadiums that draw vast, big-spending crowds.

At the Bangkok Cockpit in Samut Prakan, a 1,000-strong throng cheers on a pair of avian fighters whose necks are locked in combat as bets furiously exchange hands.

“We don’t think it’s violence as it’s a kind of sport,” says regular punter Suwan Cheunchom, 35, after winning Bt500 on a round which ended in a tie.

His prize is on the lower end of a betting spectrum in Thailand, where most forms of gambling are outlawed. 

A few weeks later the same stadium raked in Bt22.2 million for a record-breaking bet, venue manager Banjerd Janyai reveals.

In this lucrative industry “good fighting birds” can sell for more than Bt3 million, he adds, with Thailand exporting cocks to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia and buyers arriving from as far afield as France and Bahrain.

Unlike in the Philippines, where roosters can be seen fighting with blades attached to their feet, Thai birds usually compete with their spurs wrapped in fabric.

The cocks are judged on their fighting prowess rather than their ability to kill, with proponents like Banjerd arguing such protections mean “there are not many injuries”.

“It’s a way to preserve ancient Thai culture and pass it on to our children,” says the 50-year-old.

Champion birds attract a cult following like muay thai fighters, with entire magazines dedicated to the bloodsport. 

But some Thais are fighting for an end to the practice in a country where the concept of animal welfare is only slowly emerging.

“It’s torture, from any point of view. But the people who get involved claim that it’s the nature of the animal to fight,” says Roger Lohanan, founder of Thai Animal Guardians Association.

Late last year Thailand introduced its first-ever animal welfare law after years of campaigning by rights groups.

The legislation bans “torture and cruelty towards animals” but exempts activities deemed part of the country’s traditions such as bull and cockfighting.

Roger says profit-mongers are “exploiting culture” to make money at a time when most Thais agree cockfighting is outdated.

“There are a lot of influential people behind cockfighting,” he says, who benefit through the gambling as well as the industry that has risen around it, from the hormones used to plump the birds to the wicker baskets they are reared in.

The official view supports cockfighting as an intrinsic part of Thai culture.

“We’ve had cockfighting since ancient times, for more than 700 years,” says Pitsanu Prapatananun from the Interior Ministry, which encourages raising the birds in local communities as a form of “extra income”.

Back at the underground ring, men suck out blood pooled in the necks of their fowls in between bouts – a sign, the Loei electrician says, that shows how much they all care for birds they have painstakingly raised.

“We suck out the blood from the neck so it feels refreshed and better,” he said.

“The longer he can fight the stronger and more valuable he will be.”