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About this episode

When I was riding my motorcycle around Bali, I stumbled across a cockfight. It's a tradition across the island that has survived attempts to stamp it out for the sake of tourists who might be disgusted. I've heard it's currently both legal and illegal, so I'm not really sure what to believe. It was a festival atmosphere where the fights took place, with a gamelan troupe loudly going at it in the temple next door. People bought satay and other snacks, gossipped about their lives and speculated about the competitors' chances.Razorblades were tied to the cocks' ankles, who were preened and prepped for battle by their owners. Before each fight, hundreds of men waved crumpled rupiahs in the air, frantically shouting at bookies who somehow managed to keep tabs on all the wagers. To start the match, the owners shoved the birds in each other's face a few times to get them and the crowd riled up. The fight began when the owners dropped the birds on the ground and the crowd cleared a space. I didn't see any of the action because the crowd surrounding the animals was too thick and the birds themselves are only about a foot tall. I felt a little weird about watching birds tear themselves to death, so I wasn't too upset to miss out on the bloodshed. It got me thinking. It's weird how industrialized society condones certain types of killing and condemns others. I was intially apalled at cockfighting, because the animals are raised (and often drugged) for the sole purpose of a grisly death (and because they woke us up every day in Ubud at 5am). But I'm not sure that it's any morally worse than the practices at your average factory farm, which for some reason don't disgust too many Americans. Regardless of animal welfare, agriculture is the single largest water polluter in the US according to the EPA. At least these animals have a fighting chance to live (literally), and receive sunlight, exercise, and all the other things that living beings seem to like.Sorry to be preachy.

• Release Date

  Jan 19, 2008

• Runtime

  00:31