Lam Van Tay, a breeder of ornamental cocks in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan District, has brought along two small cocks to show them off. The beautiful birds suddenly flare their neck feathers, angrily flap their wings, and aggressively attack each other with raised claws.
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| A cockfight takes place at the billiards club Minh on Highway 1A in District 12 - Photo: Tuoi Tre |
“People are no longer interested in large roosters weighing two to three kilograms for fighting because cops can easily catch them red-handed,” he says.
“Ornamental cocks are now preferred in cock pits where stakes can be dozens of millions of VND.”
The ornamental cocks, commonly called ga tre, have long and colorful feathers, a high-pitched crow, and an aggressive nature.
Dinh of Binh Tan District, who breeds these cocks, talked about a place frequented by gamblers to buy these birds. With his well-stocked farm, he has sold dozens of the birds every day in the last two years. A bird weighing less than a kilogram is sold here for a minimum of VND1 million (USD50); the price doubles or even triples for a particularly combative one.
Pointing to a pair of small cocks, he boasts: “They have taken part in several battles recently and won. For each I received at least one million dong (USD50).
Dinh has linked with fighting cocks breeders in the Mekong Delta to receive the regular supplies. He “upgrades” his poultry then sells them at a higher price, from three to four times.
Ornamental roosters used in cockfights are in vogue because they are small, easy to take care of and it takes only small area from three four square meters to set the ring. These birds are also very convenient. They can be placed in small bags, motorbike trunks or even in jacket pockets to avoid attention.
Binh “thieu gia”, a reputable gambler in Nguyen Trai Street, District 5, brags about his cock: “I own a 600-gram rooster, which won five matches consecutively. I gained five million dong (USD250) at minimum and twenty million dong (USD1,000) at maximum.”
Small alleys in Ho Chi Minh City are becoming cockpits for gamblers. The bets range from hundreds to millions VND. The bets settled by gamblers who watch the match are much higher: sometimes they amount to VND40 to VND50 million (USD1919-USD2,398) per match.
Recently, even billiards table could be used as battlefield. On 29th September, a cockfight took place at the billiards club Minh on Highway 1A in District 12.
Hai “nau”, a fighting cock’s owner, standing aside the billiards table surrounded by some other gamblers, says: “Each bet costs up to one million dong so that the battle deserves holding in such air-conditioned cozy room.”
On the baize-covered table, two 600-gram “fighters” jump angrily into each other, try to force the opponent to the edge. Just after 20 minutes, many gamblers regretfully throw 10 to 15 million dong for matches they have lost.
To real cockpit
Just 10:00 AM, an empty area along Phan Van Doi Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Hoc Mon District starts getting crowded. Although it’s weekday, more than 50 gamblers stand around the cockpit, shouting and settling bets. One bet is “traditionally” worth one to five million dong, however the bets between gamblers standing out of the ring varies.
After the cocks are weighed and the spurs are tied onto their legs, the match begins. A fat man is calling loudly gamblers to settle their bets. The first match lasts for only five minutes, a man made some swear words and drew out VND15 million (USD719.6). Other gamblers also pay in haste. Very quickly are packs of VND100,000 (USD4.8) papers exchanged in order to not to be caught by the police.
Every day there are dozens of gamblers spending their time here and dozens fights held in this cockpit from dawn to sunset.
In this cockpit a teenager gambler named Hinh is very famous, just 12 years old however he gains other players’ respect thanks to his shocking bet. He’s ready to pay dozens of million dong for each match. “More than VND20 million (USD1,000) gone away in just 5 minutes because the cock I bet on lost his game,” he whizzes regretfully.
A story which is still whispered among gamblers is the ultimate battle in early 2011, when Tai - a nouveau riche in Tan Phu District - accepted the challenge of a gambler named Dung in Vung Tau. The bet was VND500 million (USD24,000). After Tai arrived in Vung Tau, two rich men picked an empty area in one fighting cock breeder’s land to start the battle.
Just after 10 minutes, Tai’s rooster was knocked out. And he drew out packs of VND500,000 bank notes to pay Dung.
“Raising cocks for ornamental purpose and cockfighting have been favorite hobby of Ho Chi Minh City’s inhabitants for a long time. Ornamental cocks are usually small, and have colored and shiny feather. Sometimes it takes great effort of cross-breeding to produce a prestige ornamental cock. Recently, cockfights using ornamental cocks are a form of illegal gambling. Such activities conflict strongly with the artistic hobby of true ornamental cocks breeders,” Truong Hoang, former vice-president of Ho Chi Minh City Ornamental Creatures Assembly, shares his point of view.
