WITH ROCKY THE ROOSTER (COURTESY ANIMAL PROTECTION VOTERS)
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SFR: Rocky, are you an inherently violent bird?
RR:
While it is in my nature to protect my territory, it is not with razors or being pumped full of drugs. I will fight for my territory, but not to the death.
Is that what happens during a cockfight? You have razors attached to your legs?
Yes, I have huge gaffs attached to my legs in the form of razors or knives more than 3 inches long, and there's only two ways to come out of that ring: dead or alive.
What's your life like between fights?
The life in between fights is when I'm kept tethered to a small A-frame shelter in a yard, just out of pecking reach of hundreds of other roosters. I'm kept there almost all the time to taunt me to protect my area. Two weeks before a fight, I'm taken into a coop called a keep, where I'm fed special foods to give me more energy; and my steroids, the drugs I take, are stepped up to make me more aggressive, and then I get trained. Sometimes I get trained by beating up on other roosters that are used as bait.
How did people end up using you for fights?
From what I understand from my friends, the tradition actually began back in Asia and slowly worked its way over to Mexico. My sport is also in Louisiana at this time and used to be in Oklahoma, so there is no cultural aspect to the killing contest I'm forced to participate in.
How many of your brothers and sisters have died in cockfights?
Of half the birds entered in a derby on the weekend, which could be 100 birds, only 50 walk out.
Do people bet on these games?
People do. Winners in the derby can take home $10,000 to $80,000, and that's why they fight so hard to get me killed. And all of the gambling is illegal.
Is that part of why cockfighting has become so controversial?
Yes, because all of the money that is involved.
Do you think this will be the year New Mexico finally makes cockfighting illegal?
I'm very optimistic. I would like to be free to peck and scratch around the yard and hang out with my lady friends.
Do you think Gov. Bill Richardson is using you for political gains?
No, I feel that he understands that he needed to lend his support along with 81 percent of New Mexicans who support getting a ban passed. Gov. Richardson is a pro-animal governor.
Animal Protection Voters has been trying to get you out of the ring for years. What are some of their current efforts?
Currently, they have launched a Web site,
, to help people find out where the bill to ban cockfighting [SB 10] is in the Legislature and are continuously working to keep the bill's location in the public's mind so the public will keep pressure on the Legislature to pass the ban.
And the ban's sponsor is state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana.
She is a wonderful woman who cares deeply for animals.
Who are your other human friends?
Some of my friends include the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, the New Mexico District Attorneys Association, the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence and New Mexico Voices for Children.
I've read that some of your supporters have been threatened.
Yes, and I think it shows that those who have been cruel to animals won't hesitate to be threatening and use intimidation on people.
In some states where cockfighting is illegal, there are still underground fights. Will that happen here?
It may, but that is why the fourth-degree felony inclusion in the bill is so important. It will allow our law enforcement to be able to focus on tracking down fighting rings.
What can people do to help you?
Contact their legislators and tell them they support a statewide ban on cockfighting.
What are you going to do without cockfighting?
Well, after I unshackle myself from these gaffs and detox from the drugs, I'm going to go strut my stuff around the barnyard.
