Animal rights organizations today welcomed the decision by the airline Korean Air to ban the transport of roosters from the United States to the Philippines, where fighting with these animals is a profitable industry.
As Authorities estimate revenues in the order of tens of millions of dollars per week generated by fights between roosters equipped with sharp metal spurs, money that allegedly fuels organized crime.
Activists and a Filipino creator, Eduardo Eugenio, told AFP that the United States of America (USA) provides a large number of roosters intended for these fights, so the ban on the airline Korean Air promises to have a “huge impact”.
The South Korean company confirmed, in a statement sent this Saturday to AFP, that it had “suspended the transport of roosters of any age on routes between the United States and the Philippines”.
“Korean Air is committed to ensuring the legal and safe transportation of live animals in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” he added.
The American non-governmental organization (NGO) Animal Wellness Action declared that Korean Air was, in its opinion, “the largest airline in the world involved in the illegal transport of fighting cocks”.
Although the carrier did not explicitly mention fighting cocks in its statement, several organizations have stated that this ban is the result of its campaign aimed at banning a practice they consider cruel.
Jana Sevilla, spokesperson for PETA in the Philippines, told AFP that the decision, applauded by the group, “certainly” targets cockfighting.
“We hope (…) that other airlines follow this example”, added Jana Sevilla, recalling that the Philippines is one of the countries where cockfighting is still authorized.
This week, the NGO Animal Wellness Action claimed, in a statement, the merit of this measure, which follows several months of research and exchange of correspondence.
“Korean Air has agreed to comply with our request to put an end to all shipments of roosters to the Philippines,” said the organization, noting that American breeders who supply these birds often pose as harmless farmers or breeders and send “tens of thousands” of animals to the Philippines every year.
Other roosters bred in the US are transported by land and air to Mexico, where fighting continues to be authorized in some states.
According to Eduardo Eugenio, responsible for a farm of 300 birds in the city of Tagum, in the south of the country, “the activity in the Philippines depends a lot” on American breeders.
