STOP THE CRUELTY AND TORTURE OF COCKFIGHTING AS WE KNOW IT

It makes me ashamed when I hear that fellow New Mexicans (Lea County people, especially!) are gambling by means of tormenting, torturing and cruelly forcing God's creatures to kill each other. This is done for the entertainment of grown people and children. Some sport.

An English judge wrote before 1844, ". . . cock-fighting must be considered a barbarous diversion, which ought not to be encouraged or sanctioned in a court of justice." Another English judge wrote in 1844, " . . . cockfighting . . . is a violation . . . of the plain dictates of humanity, which is at the basis of the common law. . . ." As another English judge put it, ". . . as being barbarous and cruel, leading to disorder and danger, and tending to deaden the feelings of humanity, both in those who participate in it, and those who witness it ...." You say you do not respect the English common law? The lawyers amoung our founding fathers respected it. In any event, were not these English judges right?

In New Mexico, from what we read, the roosters are encouraged to continue fighting even after they are wounded and seriously injured. In an 1863 English case, he Court ruled that one was guilty of causing a cock to be cruelly ill-treated, abused, and tortured where the cock, having suffered a broken thigh, was put back into the ring with the cock it was fighting, whereby it was killed ...."

We believe that the most recent word on the subject of cruelty to roosters comes from the case of State v. Buford, 65 New Mexico Reports , page 51 (Supreme Court of New Mexico 1958). Justice James B. McGhee wrote the opinion, from which Justice Sadler dissented. McGhee wrote, "Thus we reach the conclusion that the type of cruelty to animal statute we are construing was not passed with the intention of prohibiting such sports as cockfighting. ...."

All else aside, how can it possibly be justified to arm the roosters with razor sharp gaffs? If it is the nature of the rooster to fight other roosters, and it is part of someone's culture to watch and enjoy, then why not allow the roosters to fight bare footed, and allow a losing rooster to leave the fight when he wants to toss in the towel? This is torment and torture to helpless creatures and ought to be outlawed, in the name of humanity.

Governor Richardson deserves a run for President without being saddled with this shame and disgrace (legal torture and torment of helpless fowl). It is bad enough to have to face the national voters when you are from a state which allows its citizens to walk down the street with six guns strapped on the hips [from 1842 to 1963, carrying, concealed or unconcealed, was unlawful].