Four days earlier, after May 31, a second sign of illegal cockfighting was detected in Catalonia, this time just two months apart. A transit patrol of Mossos d’Esquadra stopped a minibus traveling along the AP-7 near Girona while inspecting its cargo. Officers discovered that the vehicle supposedly carried more than fifty roosters bound for fights.
The previously suspected existence of this cruel practice in Catalonia had already surfaced during a blessed week, when Sabadell police officers detained fifty people who entered a cockfighting event with bets. Long suspected to be held in Ankara, the birds were stored in orchards and nearby barracks to conceal from view. Yet that day, as the patrol closed in, the crowd scattered from the field, leaving only a still scene near the pit where the owners compelled the roosters to fight.
The Sabadell pit, where bets are placed on fights, was photographed by a press team at the scene.
Although police sources consulted by a major Catalan newspaper emphasized that this is not a common practice, the fact remains that within a brief two-month period, authorities reported at least two pieces of evidence pointing to cockfighting in Catalonia.
forbidden fights
This cockfight with bets is illegal under national law. Yet two autonomous communities, Andalusia and the Canary Islands, permit certain regulated forms under strict conditions. In Andalusia, for example, fights may occur between breeders to select breeding males, with the expectation that no birds die. Gambling is never allowed, and fights that result in death or serious injury are prohibited.
According to Mossos, the roosters transported in the Girona van showed clear injuries, with feathers missing and pronounced spurs. A Catalan officer noted that breeders sometimes blunt the spurs to prevent fatal clashes or to end them quickly. In other cases, organizers sharpen spurs or even attach metal blades to the birds’ legs to ensure lethality.
During the Sabadell investigation, Mossos examined five pages of a sealed regulation from the Andalusian Federation of Spanish Fighting Rooster Defenders, documents detailing rules for properly conducted fights to determine the strongest birds. It stated that roosters should have their combs and beards shaved, and thighs peeled. Strikingly, one potential outcome listed is the death of one of the two combatants, which draws attention because such events are supposed to be for selecting breeding males, not for death.
Efforts to obtain a response from the rooster breeders federation were unsuccessful; no managers could be reached. The federation’s website presents its defense of what it calls an ancient tradition that has deep roots in Spain.
The Sabadell photos showed rooster cages near the open pit, with the operation conducted by agents who confiscated some birds while others had already been killed. The case file was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office, with potential charges ranging from animal-cruelty offenses to administrative violations, depending on the findings. In such setups, pits and cages, betting slips, scales, hourglasses, alcohol, and stopwatches often point to the purpose of the gathering.
prisoner
Three individuals were traveling in the Girona-bound van on May 31 when a Trànsit patrol stopped it and pressed for details about the fifty roosters. The driver appeared evasive, and the eventual owner of the birds was located nearby, suggesting he was not far from the operation. The owner remained reticent about the purpose of transporting the birds.
Mossos arrested the man and questioned the other three occupants. None of the ten Sabadell suspects were detained, and the roosters’ owner who continues to conceal the birds’ destination has a prior record of illegal activity in Catalonia.
Authorities removed the birds from the owners’ control, except for those that had been killed during the fights, while others suffered injuries, including the loss of an eye. The operation prompted multiple cases that were referred to the prosecutor and possibly to the court, with charges that could involve animal-cruelty, public-order offenses, and regulatory violations related to the organization of illegal fights. The investigative effort also looked into the ancillary components of the events, such as the staging spaces, cages, and betting arrangements.