Cockfighting—the brutal spectacle that pits specially bred roosters against each other in a bloody fight to the death—makes the news occasionally. The cruelty behind the headlines is always the same. In November, for example, law enforcement officers in Indiana, assisted by rescuers from the Humane...

Cockfighting is an age-old practice in which two or more specially bred birds, known as gamecocks, are placed in an enclosed pit to fight for the primary purposes of gambling and entertainment. A typical cockfight can last anywhere from several minutes to more than half an hour and usually results...