Cockfight : For The Love Of The Game
Once considered barbaric and frequently shun upon, cockfighting now is an industry that spans huge markets. And some of them are in just for the love of the sport.
Dr. Simeon Binayug is nearing 60 years old. The conventional grandfather profile fits him like a glove, but not the hair. But ever so often, this regular Joe gives in to frequent hair coloring to conceal his age. But even at fifty-something, he admits he has habits he’s too young to see die.
Much like his other manly hobbies, like playing cards in the mid-afternoon and placing bets in the lottery with his wife, cockfighting holds a niche in his monthly to-do list. He sometimes visits Pangasinan, where some friends and relatives live, to attend cockfights and have some of his backyard chickens, after a few months of training, battle.
For the past decade, he has socialized with a respectable amount of breeders-professional and backyard-from all over the country, sharing ideas and opinions about their favorite sport. He admits, at first it was all about fighting and walking away with the biggest prize and your chicken still alive. But after a reputable equation of wins and losses, and a tide of developments and variations in cockfighting, the aim of the game takes a turn.
Thanks to tri-media
“The gamefowl industry for the past five years has improved more than four to five folds, added Rex Malabanan, Marketing Manager of FSI Nutrition Inc., “Partly because of the media, and the players of the game as well. When the companies started using the tri-media (radio, TV and print) thru sabong shows, magazines solely dedicated to game birds and AM shows that have cockfighting segments, more and more individuals wanted to know more about the game.”
At the same time, the internet played a big role in promoting the game that not only the Filipinos loved, but so did the Mexicans and other Asian countries. It triggered fast education, further raising the competition’s yardstick and making cockfighting more than just a junction exclusive to the experts and the well-off.
“But much like before,” Malabanan continued, “There still are traditional gainers, as it had become part of our culture; yet in unison, some have updated themselves, and are more scientific than in the past.”
Cockfighting’s demographics spans a variety of people-down from the tricycle drivers and factory workers, to government employees like Simeon and other respected politicians-and of different ages-from the late teens to the blue-collar job professionals.
Scientific evolutions
Other advancements Malabanan have encountered include traditional nutritional practices that are now transformed. He explained, “What used to be a simple combination of grapes, apple, carrots, banana, honey, palay, corn, and other fruits-which had been acceptable from the start-is now a variety of specific products which cater to the chickens’ particular nutritional needs. The problem was they weren’t sure how much nutrition the chickens were getting from the previous. They weren’t consistent and balanced. But now that companies are continually outdoing themselves to come up with the newest technologies on muscles, bones and feathers development that’s perfect for the birds, the industry is always updated.”
Other medicinal practices, at the same time, are recurrently taught to the industry’s players, although no one in the veterinary profession would like to go and treat the roosters when diseases or injuries strike. One of the only 20 game birds veterinarian Dr. Paul John Lim Tolentino, who had been in the business for years now explained, “It’s funny when we tried interviewing these people, we found that the practice of the untrained breeders healing their own roosters is actually a practice observed and passed on to other generations.”
There now is a specific need for the breeders to be scientific. After all, a few years back, the disease challenge for the industry was less. It only took two vaccines to quiet epidemics down. There were only two serious diseases breeders and rooster owners contended with-the New Castles Disease (NCD) and Fowl Pox (bulutong). But at present, the vaccination program has gone more extensive.
“It’s something I advocate too,” continued Tolentino, “I was one of the founders of Kaagpas (Kasama Agri-Products Services), along with Arnel Anonuevo, Dr. Butch Yabut and Dr. Ding Kajulis, whose objective was to give service to small breeders. Vaccines in the late `9os, cost up to Prow and not all of those who wanted to be part of the industry could afford it, which is why we started a vaccination center-allowing backyard breeders to vaccinate their chicks per head for a peso each.”
Other than NCD and fowl pox, some breeders could have already heard about gumhoro or infectious bursal disease, which is the same as AIDS in humans. “It’s viral, often passed on through bad bio-security, people visiting the chicken house, direct contact from other infected birds and animals,” added Tolentino.
On the other hand, during the avian flu scare a few years back, the gamefowl industry wasn’t spared from the panic. Although, a real Bird Flu epidemic, as Tolentino and Malabanan conferred, would devastate the industry-which would hamper the migration of birds, after which driving the economy to a full stop. This is why security on allowing smuggled oriental breeds in the South is strict. After all, Malaysia and Bangkok, which were some of the affected countries, was a mere boat ride away from Mindanao.
Beyond gambling
“It’s easy to equate cockfighting with gambling. People think it’s just a vice, a hobby,” said Tolentino, “But more and more people are getting involved, getting into the business. People don’t notice that the cockpit generates jobs. The kristos, people assigned to get the bets; the sentisyador, the referee; the tadero or mananare, and the paravets. It might seem like a simple game, a vice from the outside, but what people don’t realize is that it helps others.”
Accordingly, the National Federation of Game-fowl Breeders, an association renowned within the industry across the country, plays a vast part because it consolidates the different gamefowl associations nationwide. Its existence elevates each competition to a national level, all at once, keeping strict principles and rules for the sport. The competition and the recognition of the winners from the different areas become more scientific and focal.
Cockfighting, without a doubt, brings opportunities to an eager and generous crowd, besides the chicken themselves. But mostly, when you talk to the breeders, you find out that the business side of raising these roosters is secondary. It’s really the love for the sport. If you experience raising them, seeing them grow and finally seeing them fight, you feel great pride when you see that these chickens have done well. And as Binayug puts it, the sport would live to see more years of great expectations and fierce developments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tolentino and Malabanan answer your questions.
How much a bird?
If you buy game birds from known breeders and are sure winners, it can go as high as P7000 to P12000, On the average, P6000, but others are bought at P3500, depending on the age.
Where do I spend the most in breeding?
Sixty-five percent on food, 15 % on medicines and the rest for miscellaneous expenses.
How can you tell that what you’re buying is of good quality?
Check the background of the breeder. A serious breeder should know the pedigree of the parent stocks. Physically, check the height, composition of the rooster you’re buying and have a guideline of what you want to buy.
Where is the breeding and cockfighting central in the country?
Bacolod. They started the propagation of fighting cocks. They were all first imported from the US and since they have tats of ground to do training on, Bacolod’s cockfighting industry became big. In fact, during the downhill state of the sugar industry, cockfighting replaced it.
What’s the difference between gamefowl veterinarian and broilers?
They’re actually opposite poles. Broilers just take care of the growth. Vets’ responsibilities are more challenging. Not only do hey watch for the growth, they’re accountable for antibiotics and vaccination.
What’s the typical lifespan of bird?
Short, because some of them die in the arena. After 8 to 10 months, they’re fought, but if your rooster wins all the time, some owners wait until can make it a breeder.
