We elect our leaders on the basis of their ability to confront the pressing issues of the day. In Oklahoma, that means a debate on whether or not to outfit chickens with boxing gloves. According to the Associated Press, Oklahoma State Sen. Frank Shurden is suggesting that roosters be given little boxing gloves so they can fight without bloodshed. The proposal is in a bill the Democrat has introduced for the legislative session that begins on Monday.
"Who's going to object to chickens fighting like humans do?" Shurden said. "Everybody wins."
Except, I guess, the chicken that loses. Shurden, apparently a longtime defender of cockfighting, said the state has lost millions since it outlawed the practice in 2002.
Bloody 'sport'
In cockfights, roosters are fitted with razor-like spurs and set loose on each other, while onlookers cheer and place bets on the outcome. What fun. In addition to the tiny boxing gloves, Shurden would outfit the battlin' birds with lightweight vests equipped with sensors that record each blow. The result, the lawmaker said, would be a nonlethal form of cockfighting that would "let the roosters do what they love to do without getting injured."
I don't know enough about roosters to know if they love fighting or not. I suspect that they do, if they happen to be coaxed and goaded into it by crowds of cheering humans with money riding on the outcome.
I certainly didn't know that cockfighting is ---or was --- big business, with supporters in high places.
Hard to believe that Oklahoma only outlawed the "sport" three years ago. Or that two states, Louisiana and New Mexico, still allow it. I had kind of thought that sort of thing died out with the Great Depression.
I'm not some animal rights activist. My animal rights activism doesn't extend much beyond making sure my dog gets fed every day and trying not to get too mad at her when she poops on the carpet. But how can anyone, animal rights activist or not, defend something as barbaric as cockfighting? Other than abusing a child, it's hard to think of anything more cruel than turning a couple of animals on each other. Or abusing any kind of animal and calling it "sport." Take bullfighting. Hardly a pastime in the United States, but still a hallowed tradition in Spain and other countries.
Rooting for the bull
I don't know about you, but whenever I hear about a bullfight, I'm rooting for the bull. Some people might cringe when they see some gaudily outfitted matador being hoisted high on a set of horns; I applaud. Serves him right, I figure. The same goes for the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. If you set a frightened wild beast free on a city street, then are stupid enough to get in front of it, you deserve whatever happens to you.
I realize it's kind of a leap to go from cockfighting to bullfighting, but the concept is the same, needlessly abusing animals for the amusement of a bunch of bored people who really ought to splurge on cable TV or something. So it bothers me to see some lawmaker trying to find a way to preserve a "sport" that should have been consigned to history a long time ago.
Boxing gloves for chickens?
How about a better set of priorities for certain elected officials?
