Korean Air: Don’t Give Cockfighting a Lift!

A Hidden Pipeline to the Cockfighting Pit

Cockfighting is a blood sport built on deliberate animal cruelty. Roosters are fitted with knives or other cutting implements and forced into staged fights in which severe injury and death are not incidental—they are the point of the spectacle.

Investigators for Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy documented a trafficking pipeline moving U.S.-bred fighting birds through commercial channels to the Philippines, one of the world’s major cockfighting markets. The investigation traced birds from U.S. breeders and brokers to Manila and documented American cockfighters participating at the World Slasher Cup.

Commercial air transport is what makes this long-distance trade possible. Shipping an adult rooster thousands of miles across the Pacific at substantial cost makes little economic sense for ordinary egg or meat production. But prized fighting birds can command thousands of dollars, creating a powerful financial incentive for traffickers to disguise fighting animals as breeding stock.

But organized animal-fighting networks adapt. A closed route can be replaced by another carrier, another destination, or a policy loophole. That is why Korean Air should make its commitment unmistakable and durable: no transport of roosters for fighting, no exceptions that traffickers can exploit, meaningful screening and enforcement, and a public policy that other airlines can follow.

Why This Matters

• The cruelty is extreme. Birds are bred and conditioned to fight, armed with blades, and placed into pits where they can suffer catastrophic wounds and prolonged deaths.
• The trade is illicit. Federal law prohibits interstate and foreign commerce in animals intended for fighting. Traffickers often portray fighting birds as harmless “breeding” stock.
• The money fuels organized criminal activity. Cockfighting is intertwined with illegal gambling and other criminal conduct, while valuable U.S.-bred birds can sell for thousands of dollars each.
• Airlines are a critical chokepoint. Fighting birds bound for distant overseas markets cannot cross the Pacific without transportation. Strong carrier policies can deny traffickers the logistics their business depends on.

Tell Korean Air: Keep Cruelty Off Your Flights

Korean Air has the opportunity to turn one important decision into an enduring corporate standard. We are asking the airline to maintain and publicly codify a strong prohibition on transporting live roosters into markets associated with cockfighting, train cargo personnel to recognize suspicious shipments, and cooperate with authorities when traffickers attempt to misuse its network.

ADD YOUR NAME: DON’T GIVE COCKFIGHTING A LIFT!

Learn More

• Sign the petition
• Read the investigation and Korean Air policy announcement
• Read Wayne Pacelle’s blog, “Cockfighting’s Trafficking Pipeline is Hiding in Plain Sight”

Help Us Stop Animal Fighting at the Source

The Center for a Humane Economy works to change the economic systems and corporate practices that enable animal cruelty. By exposing trafficking networks, pressing companies to reform their policies, and advancing stronger laws, we can make animal fighting harder to finance, harder to supply, and harder to hide.

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