Why many Iraqi Kurds keep tradition of cockfighting alive
Cockfighting in Iraq still provides many men with a nightly escape despite the efforts of animal welfare activists to ban blood sports.
It is a hot June afternoon in Sulaimaniyah, on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that concludes the holy month of Ramadan. While most Iraqis spend the day at home with their families or neighbors, roughly 50 men have gathered in a musty room on the third floor of a teahouse to watch one of the largest cockfights of the year. Everyone is smoking, sweating and shouting as two black roosters launch at one another during an exhibition match.
Cockfighting is among the most popular blood sports worldwide. It may also be the world’s oldest spectator sport, originating in Persia over 6,000 years ago. In fact, some archaeologists believe chickens were first domesticated for fighting and not for eating.
