Cockfight

A cockfight is a sporting match in a cockpit between two fighting cocks (roosters). Usually wagers are made on the outcome of the match. Roosters intended to participate in cockfights are often specially bred and trained with this in mind.

In some regional variations, the birds are equipped with artificial steel spurs known as gaffs, which tend to cause the fights to end much quicker. In other variations, the bird's feet are wrapped to lengthen the bouts.

The concept of cockfighting has been generalized to fighting amongst other animals. For instance, some people train dogs to fight.

In many places, animal fights have been specifically outlawed, based on opposition to gambling, opposition to cruelty to animals, or both.

In 1759, the English artist William Hogarth published a satire on cockfighting in his print, The Cockpit. See also the video game Pokemon, which has (falsely) been labeled as a cockfighting simulation.