A blood sport in which specially bred, aggressive roosters are pitted against each other in an arena called a cockpit, with spectators frequently wagering on the outcome. Its legal status varies sharply by country: it remains legal in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Peru, where it holds cultural significance, while it is banned in all fifty US states and territories, with violations treated as felonies in many jurisdictions. Where it is illegal, enforcement can be substantial: Canada criminalizes organizing, promoting and profiting from cockfights, Belgium imposes up to six months imprisonment and a two-thousand-euro fine for attendance, and the United States has imposed penalties of up to three years imprisonment for transporting fighting implements across state lines, with federal operations seizing thousands of birds.
Facts
Typical PenaltyUnited States federal law: fine, imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, for each violation (18 USC 49(a)) 2 Elements of OffenseAn animal fighting venture, meaning any event in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least 2 animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment (United States, 7 USC 2156(g)) 1 Jurisdiction VariationCockfighting is still practiced as a mainstream event in some areas, while in some countries it is regulated by law or forbidden outright 3 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. 7 U.S. Code 2156, Animal fighting venture prohibition (Cornell LII)
7 USC 2156(g), definition of animal fighting ventureQuote, 7 USC 2156(g), definition of animal fighting venture
any event, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least 2 animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment
2. 18 U.S. Code 49, Enforcement of animal fighting prohibitions (Cornell LII)
18 USC 49(a)Quote, 18 USC 49(a)
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for each violation
3. Wikipedia, Cockfighting
Introduction, final sentenceQuote, Introduction, final sentence
in some countries it is regulated by law, or forbidden outright
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