The far-right party, Vox has defended cockfighting for selection and breeding purposes of the andalusian breed Combatiente Español or Jerezano.

The said councillor in the Vélez-Málaga Town Council calls upon it to obey the law which permits cockfighting for this purpose.

There are only two regions in the whole of Spain that permit cockfighting and then only under the above-mentioned condition; one of them is Andalucía and the other is the Canary Islands.

Spain’s Animal Protection Law of 1991 recognises this exception in the case of Andalucía because of “cultural heritage and a history of cockfighting in the region.” However, Animal rights organisations have sought to ban the bloodsport nationwide, although to no avail in our region.

The Andalusian Law 11/2003 banned cockfighting with the exception of those organised with the aim of “breeding selection for the improvement of the breed and its exportation (to Latin America in general). Such cockfights can only be carried out at authorised hatcheries. Only the staff of said installations are allowed to attend; i.e., no general public and no betting.

In the case of Vélez-Málaga, the Asociación de Criadores del Gallo Combatiente Español de Vélez-Málaga requested a licence in January last year but to date the Town Hall has not granted one, hence the far-right councillor, Sr. Fernández, is demanding that the Town Council issues a licence in accordance with Ley 11/2003.

Councillor Fernández said that such cockfights must last at least 25 minutes and only conclude when one of the animals “bites the dust.”

Editorial comment: although cocks are naturally combative, their fights rarely end in death because like in the rest of the animal kingdom when two males fight, one backs down and escapes. However, these ‘people’ put metal spurs on the cockerels to inflict maximum damage and you can be sure, many consider, that there are bets going down during the fight.

(News: Velez-Malaga, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)