Philippines decide on 5 % betting tax on cockfights

In spite of worldwide criticism, the authorities of the Philippines stick to the traditional cockfights. A few days ago, the Committee of the House of Representatives decided on a new betting tax of 5 % of the gross income of licensed cockfights. The Financial Authority Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should be the beneficiary of these taxes.

But how do the Philippines defend the accusations that this tradition involves animal cruelty? And what happens during a cockfight according to “old tradition“?

In the Philippines, a cockfight is at times just as interesting and popular as a top football match in Germany. Two cocks are let lose against each other in an arena. The aggressive instinct of the cock then leads to a bloody fight, in which one of the cocks usually dies. Animal welfarists have been criticising this tradition for years - without success.

Cock fights are even streamed live

What in other countries is not even imaginable, belongs in the Philippines to tradition. Here two cocks are left to fight for their life against each other. The spectacle is meanwhile streamed online. Last October , the responsible gambling authority, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) gave the green light for this online streaming of cockfights (E-Sabong) and officially regulated them. Further to this, the Philippine Authorities plan to set up arenas, in which the fights can take place and be streamed online.

In connection with this, it has now been announced that the government wants to introduce a new betting tax on cock fights. The tax should be 5 % of the gross income and it has to be paid to the local Finance Authority Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Animal welfarists are furious

With the introduction of the new betting tax, the animal welfarists have suffered a setback, because there seems to be no plan to ban these traditional events. On the opposite: Since the competitions will now be regulated by the state, they are officially permitted. Up till now cock fights were in a kind of grey zone. The spokesperson for the Police Regional Office (PRO), Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong insisted in a statement, that the fights are part of the Philippine culture and therefore it is difficult to pursue illegal events.

Illegal Cock fights are still a big problem

When the pandemic hit, the authorities in the Philippines banned cock fights completely. The local regulatory agency meanwhile is doing strict controls to try to prevent illegal cock fights from being held and increasing the risk of the virus spreading. According to the Daily Guardian, police operations to control these illegal events have increased by 3,100 %. Since Mid-October 2020 the cock fights are allowed in some places and under strict conditions.

Those who want to organise cock fights must obey the strict conditions of the authorities. These events may only be organised at licensed venues and may only be held on Sundays or public holidays.

Recently a fighting cock killed a policeman

A few weeks ago, it was announced that a policemen in the Philippines was killed by a fighting cock. The tragic death happened in San Jose, around 480 km south of the capital Manila. The police were here involved because an illegal cock fight was held. The victim wanted to pull the animal’s leg when the cock hit him in his thigh with a metal blade which was tied to his nose. The policeman bled to death, before he could be taken to hospital. Once again, this incident which happened last October shows clearly the danger of this questionable tradition, not only for the animals but also for humans.

Where does the cock fight take place?

In a traditional cock fight both opponents are placed in the arena. If the fight is professionally organised, every cock has a supervisor and there is also a referee and an assistant. Since a cock establishes his territory, on the day he will be fighting for it, and thus starts to fight. Before the fight, the cocks are either kept in closed quarters together or are further urged to be in an aggressive mood so that they will then behave aggressively. According to the region, the cocks will be armed with artificial spurs. The fight ends when one of the two animals cannot fight anymore, because it is either injured or dead.

Conclusion

The traditional cock fights in the Philippines have always disputed in the past and this will probably not change anytime in the future. In the 19^th. Century, the Philippine freedom fighter Jose Rizal had already tried to ban cock fights but did not succeed. At that time however the reasons for his attempt were not blood lust and apparent animal cruelty. Rizal complained more about the high betting sum, which even at that time, was being placed on cock fights. With the introduction of a state betting tax of 5 % the Philippine government has opened up the way for regulated betting on cockfights to be permissive even in the future.

Source Picture: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/können-huhn-hahnenkampf-gamechicken-2095363/