“SPORT” OF COCKFIGHTING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3867, 6 November 1928, Page 4

“SPORT” OF COCKFIGHTING.

POPULAR IN CHRISTCHURCH. DIFFICULTIES OF POLICE. Christchurch, Nov. 1. According to one newspaper there is no doubt that the “sport” of cockfighting is carried on in Christchurch. It is generally understood that most of the big matches are staged at the time of the annual poultry show in June, birds being brought from the West Coast, where it is well known that the illegal pastime flourishes, and big wagering on the outcome of the fights is common. There are in Christchurch two pits which are used often, but witlU out the knowledge of the police. The police are hampered in their work in finding evidence of the sport by the fact that for one thing its followers are very careful not to let their whereabouts be known and that much of the eockfighting is carried on in the grounds of private houses. The fights are often conducted by professional men, who have their motor-cars and drive round to the home of a friend ■on a Sunday morning, the cock being hidden in the car. By degrees about a dozen men arrive at the rendezvous, and the morning-is spent in watching the battles of the birds. As the men are on private property and ostensibly are paying a social visit to the home of a friend it is by no means easy to find evidence of the illegal sport