Jaunted

Though the sport is technically illegal in the state, light penalties have done little to stop bouts. Law enforcement officers complain that investigating cockfights--which are punished as misdemeanors--diverts attention from more serious crimes plaguing New Mexico like drunk driving and amphetamine use.

Still, the increase police attention has fight enthusiasts, ahem, on the ropes:

To avoid the police, law enforcement officers say, promoters have relocated the fights from large arenas to clandestine sites on sprawling properties. Lookouts are stationed atop dusty mesas, and speakers, which in the past blared mariachi music, now carry feeds from police scanners.

If running from the cops doesn't sound like fun, cockfighting is still legal in Louisiana; that state's ban on the sport doesn't take effect until August.

Related Stories:
· A Ban on Cockfighting, but Tradition Lives On [NYT]
· Cockfighting Travel: The Caribbean Capital of Combat [Jaunted]

[Photo of a mural in Santo Domingo: Advanced Source Productions]

Where: NM, United States

Tags: Animals / Cockfights / Sports Travel / Crime

by pbb