JingerBen Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Driving up to Mae Rim on the east side of the Ping River I saw a large sign in Thai with one line in English. I could make out the words "cockfight", "exhibition", and "learning". As the narrow road was curvey and lacking a shoulder in some places I only glanced briefly at the sign and we returned to Chiang Mai by a different route so I didn't see it again. Perhaps TV members can enlighten me, a relative newcomer here, as to whether or not this "sport" is legal in Chiang Mai, and how widespread is it. Does anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGringo Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Welcome to the CM Forum. Your debut post raises an interesting question, but one that may be difficult to answer. What's legal, and what's illegal, and who has jurisdiction is often ill-defined here. My guess is that cockfighting is not illegal in Chiang Mai. Certainly it has been going on here since time out of mind. But recently not as highly visible as it was before. There was a time when many young Thais in all the neighborhoods raised fighting cocks. You don't see that as much anymore. The sign you saw was unusual, almost an anomaly, because most Thais nowadays take no interest in it whatsoever. I presume that you are against cockfighting. If so, you will have much support on the forum, where many TV members react strongly to reports of cruelty to animals. Laudable as their concern is, aggressive efforts on the part of foreigners to put a stop to these practices inevitably become counterproductive. Thais, generally speaking, resent the involvement of farangs in things they consider to be none of their business. In Thailand there are three ways of doing things; a right way, a wrong way, and a Thai way. Always choose the Thai way. Which in this case would be to try to find like-minded Thais or an organization run by Thais. Then give them your help and support. But keep a low-profile, otherwise you will create problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) I think the sport is legal, but the inevitable betting is not. Like with playing cards, that puts the entire activity under a cloak of illegality. They used to have cock fighting demonstrations at the Loi Kroh boxing ring. Nothing you wouldn't see on any farm though; they let two cocks go at it until there's a clear winner. Edited January 17, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tywais Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Appears to be legal as even an Interior Minister has promoted it in the past. There is even a 'learning' center in Chiang Mai - * Cockfighting is legal in Thailand. Unlike some countries, Thai cockfighting does not use artificial spurs to increase injury and does not employ the ‘fight to the death rule’. Thai birds live to fight another day and are retired after two years of competing. Cockfighting is enjoyed by over 200,000 people each weekend at over 75 licensed venues. Thai Cock Fighting Festival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglechef Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I went to the learning center and it was very interesting. The history in this sport is deep rooted and a part of the culture. I also learnt that they do not use spurs here and only fight till one stops or retreats. I have also seen lots of these events taking place, including recently a 3 day one in the sala of the moo ban (not the foreign housing complex variety) I live in. This post is not an opinion of my personal views on the practice, just an observation of what I have seen and sought out to learn about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daoyai Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) Cock fighting here is much different than what you will see in Guam , Hawaii or the P.I., as stated earlier, it is much more "natural", no gaffs are used and retreat is defeat, much like what you will see in the barnyard. I fondly remember visiting my (X) grand father in law....in their village, after having a few drinks of laukau and smoking some banana leaf rolled cigs, all the while holding and stroking his beloved pet cock, and talking with his neighbor, who was doing the same, they put the roosters on the ground, the roosters put on a little fluttering show fight, then stopped. Edited January 17, 2012 by daoyai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JingerBen Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Welcome to the CM Forum. Your debut post raises an interesting question, but one that may be difficult to answer. What's legal, and what's illegal, and who has jurisdiction is often ill-defined here. My guess is that cockfighting is not illegal in Chiang Mai. Certainly it has been going on here since time out of mind. But recently not as highly visible as it was before. There was a time when many young Thais in all the neighborhoods raised fighting cocks. You don't see that as much anymore. The sign you saw was unusual, almost an anomaly, because most Thais nowadays take no interest in it whatsoever. I presume that you are against cockfighting. If so, you will have much support on the forum, where many TV members react strongly to reports of cruelty to animals. Laudable as their concern is, aggressive efforts on the part of foreigners to put a stop to these practices inevitably become counterproductive. Thais, generally speaking, resent the involvement of farangs in things they consider to be none of their business. In Thailand there are three ways of doing things; a right way, a wrong way, and a Thai way. Always choose the Thai way. Which in this case would be to try to find like-minded Thais or an organization run by Thais. Then give them your help and support. But keep a low-profile, otherwise you will create problems. I'm against it, of course, as any right thinking person would be. But your point of not getting personally involved in local affairs is well taken. Surely there must be animal welfare groups active in Chiang Mai that are trying to put a stop to this. I would be interested in hearing of any that are worthy of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highonthai Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 All the Thai guys I've know and have seen with their fighting cocks take very good care of them to the point that some people take care of the pets (dogs,cats). Some of those birds can be very expensive. The fights that I visited have been very tame (lots of feathers flying) but never seen one that has any type of injury to the birds involed. I'm sure that this thread will get all the animal rights folks up in arms... I consider myself a right thinking person by the way. Has anyone else been to any of the beetle fights? Those get intence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) Surely there must be animal welfare groups active in Chiang Mai that are trying to put a stop to this If there are, I'm sure they are of the Farang variety, and would have no say on this matter. Edited January 17, 2012 by Semper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellodolly Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Surely there must be animal welfare groups active in Chiang Mai that are trying to put a stop to this If there are, I'm sure they are of the Farang variety, and would have no say on this matter. Not only no say but just make the Thai's protect it even more. The Thai's want are money not are culture. For the most part the Thai's I know have no problem with me of course I try to fit in as much as a Farong can rather than change them to be like me. If you really want some thing like the one poster said find a Thai organization and support them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 A recommended book for those interested in this sport is Cockfighter by Charles Willeford. I am against it, but his description of it and the story is quite interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Willeford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaBanana Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 All the Thai guys I've know and have seen with their fighting cocks take very good care of them to the point that some people take care of the pets (dogs,cats). Some of those birds can be very expensive. The fights that I visited have been very tame (lots of feathers flying) but never seen one that has any type of injury to the birds involed. I'm sure that this thread will get all the animal rights folks up in arms... I consider myself a right thinking person by the way. Has anyone else been to any of the beetle fights? Those get intence. I'm glad you weren't blinded by those flying feathers and could see all that special care they receive. It sounds just great. You should get together with Michael Vick and talk about how he pampers his dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobl Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I consider myself a right thinking person by the way. You must be new here... You can see fighting cocks every day... just browse TV. It doesn't even have to be a particularly controversial subject.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMHomeboy78 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 All the Thai guys I've know and have seen with their fighting cocks take very good care of them to the point that some people take care of the pets (dogs,cats). Some of those birds can be very expensive. The fights that I visited have been very tame (lots of feathers flying) but never seen one that has any type of injury to the birds involed. I'm sure that this thread will get all the animal rights folks up in arms... I consider myself a right thinking person by the way. Has anyone else been to any of the beetle fights? Those get intence. I'm glad you weren't blinded by those flying feathers and could see all that special care they receive. It sounds just great. You should get together with Michael Vick and talk about how he pampers his dogs. Your first post and a combative one! You're going to fit right in here. But let me give you a piece of advice. Don't go too far. There are forces above us always watching and vigilant. Imagine a nanny with a bamboo rod, ever-ready and only too happy to whack ass. You get the idea. Love your sign. I'd like to get one for my Wife's car. So as not to seem to be off-topic, what was it? Oh yes, cockfighting. I was taken to a fight by an uncle of one of my early girlfriends. A cop, wearing civvies on the occasion. He seemed to be a regular and spoke to many of the people [all men] there. I tried to show an interest but I was bored and felt that the whole thing was a deplorable waste of time. For me anyway, but it was definitely a part of their culture then. So I didn;t, and don't, pass judgement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paagai Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I have a couple of Tai Yai friends who devote all their time to their cocks; seems to be their main source of income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraSnakeNecktie Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 it's much more humane to eat chickens than letting them live and fight each other. They aren't the smartest animals btw. We always had problems with ours when it rained. They would sometimes drown from the rain water because they aren't bright enough to not look with their mouths open. Supposedly chickens are dinosaurs and scientists are trying to use their genetics to bring back the real dinosaurs. The project is called ChickenSaurus. In the same way dogs have been bred originally from wolves then the hope is they can breed a chicken to eventually be a dinosaur. Oh wonderful science. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/09/ff_chickensaurus/all/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndersSN Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 They would sometimes drown from the rain water because they aren't bright enough to not look with their mouths open. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/09/ff_chickensaurus/all/1 Had a girl friend like tha once. Btw wird article. I don't know if cock fighting is legal or not. But I did see a cop shoe on TV where the cops stormed a cock fight (I guss thats what you call cock blocking), these cocks did have spurs though. The show was all in Thai so I can't say why it was stormed, but they filled two trucks with spectators and drove of with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 They would sometimes drown from the rain water because they aren't bright enough to not look with their mouths open. http://www.wired.com...kensaurus/all/1 Had a girl friend like tha once. Btw wird article. I don't know if cock fighting is legal or not. But I did see a cop shoe on TV where the cops stormed a cock fight (I guss thats what you call cock blocking), these cocks did have spurs though. The show was all in Thai so I can't say why it was stormed, but they filled two trucks with spectators and drove of with them. Illegal gambling. And the promotor didn't pay the cops before the game started. Happens all the time with illegal games (hi-lo. pok daeng etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I'm against it, of course, as any right thinking person would be. Maybe you were misinformed. Happens a lot, with people who are on a diet of Western news media when it comes to non-Western topics and locations. I'm pretty neutral on it myself, but I do know that there are likely MUCH more urgent places to start when it comes to animal welfare in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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