Cockfighting in Surrey, For Real
byThis morning I kept getting sent links, and emails and IM’s about the big news out of Surrey today. Admittedly upon looking at the urls (see the one for the CBC story below) I chuckled and shrugged off the articles thinking everyone just wanted to gang up on my hometown. I was wrong, apparently a huge cockfighting ring in Surrey was busted last night and once I realized this was actual news my second thought was, wait – these things exist? I thought that only happened on Seinfeld.
Animal welfare officials say as many as 37 people could be facing charges after police raided a B.C. operation that animal welfare officials are describing as Canada’s largest-ever cockfighting ring…
…The Surrey ring, raided earlier this week, may have been operating for the past three or four years, officials from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) told a news conference in Vancouver Friday.
Some of the 1,270 fighting birds found on three separate properties in the Cloverdale area of Surrey were fed steroids and kept in a perpetual state of excitement. [CBC]
Now due to the specific words in this blog post I am fully prepared for the mis-matched Google searches that will now find their way to my site and I won’t even quote the Canadian Press article because it’s just too incriminating SEO-wise.
But in all seriousness, this is pretty horrible news especially since the BC SPCA‘s orders were to euthananize all 1200 birds found on the premises. When it comes to cruelty to animals, my stomach just turns and I just wonder who actually gets a kick or thrill out of this so-called “game”, “sport”, or “event”. I also think about the societies that work so hard to try and curtail these activities and how low they are on support and funding given the work that they do. For more information about the Surrey SPCA, please visit their website, and I hope I never again have to report on a sickening story like this coming out of my hometown.
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As those who post on Meg’s infamous boob article would say…
Where are the cocks?
Hearing about things such as this is entirely heartbreaking, but I suppose at the very least we can be glad it was broken up. I can only hope that those responsible for such a disgusting thing are punished to the fullest extent. To call this “fun” or a “game” is completely assinine.
The story doesn’t reflect on Surrey, but on the police force. Not enough attention is given to the suburbs compared to Vancouver, so that criminals of all kinds feel more comfortable establishing operations out of the big city.
It’s unfortunate that neighbours are afraid to report on criminal activities. The residents of GVRD should demand a major clean up of all our cities, especially now that we’re enjoying a budget surplus.
Yeah, and sad as this is, cockfighting is considered a sport and an entertainment event in some parts of Mexico. Actually, as I was about to write this comment, I just went to check on Wikipedia on the legal status of cockfighting (peleas de gallos in Spanish) and apparently it’s legal only in certain parts of Mexico.
But the appalling thing is that not only they are legal but also, after the cockfight, there are entertainment live shows (singers, live bands, etc.) — I have always refused to attend such non-sensical events. Bullfighting is just as cruel (something inherited from Spain!). My youngest brother once was taken by my uncle and aunt to a bullfight without my parents knowledge (I’ve never been to one) and he fainted within the first five minutes. My parents never let them hang out with any of us ever again.
I don’t know why the immediate response is to euthanize all the birds. Surely there must be some way to keep them alive.
you know, stories like this remind us that we’re not all That Evolved, as much as we like to think so. Ugh. I’m so glad they got caught.
No surprise here. These are some of the reasons I left GVRD, to move back to the GTA (greater toronto area)
Mountains are nice, ‘quality’ of life is good,but some of the social problems in the lower mainland are just overwhelming.
Again I am biased since I used to live on the border of Whalley
Funny the difference in a culture can make…whereas we (westerners) tend to be appalled by cockfighting or dog flighting or bull fighting or anything in which critters are involved. At home on the Philippine satellite, I get LIVE cockfighting every Monday night beamed into my home.
I guess its either that or UFC…not sure which is more cruel and disgusting.
First off, this illegal activity was NOT in the suburbs, this was located in a rural area on the outskirts of the community which is largely agricultural land owned by mostly visible minority groups. There are NO neighbours afraid to report on criminal activities, as the nearest neighbour was probably unaware of it or condoned it. These farms are no where near Whalley and all their “social problems”, but closer to the upscale neighborhoods of Morgan Creek in South Surrey.
While the media have been trying to downplay the “cultural” aspect of cock fighting, it’s hardly a popular sport with those of us born and raised here in Canada.
@TS – having lived in both cities, I fail to see the connection between the present story and the “(overwhelming) social problems in the lower mainland.” I’m positive we could spend days poking at the problems in each of the GVRD and the GTA.
With respect to the present story, what I fear even more is that there are closed-circles where dogs are bred for sport-fighting.