- Title: THAILAND: CUSTOM-MADE TREADMILLS KEEP FIGHTING COCKS FIT
- Date: 29th April 2001
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (RECENT - APRIL 25, 2001)(REUTERS) 1. SCU OWNER WITH COCK; SCU OWNER CLEANING COCK FEATHERS (3 SHOTS) 0.17 2. SCU MEN PUTTING BIRD INTO CARRY/TRAINING HARNESS BAG 0.28 3. SCU MAN SWINGING COCK AROUND IN BAG 0.34 4. SCU COCKFIGHTING ACCESSORIES/ GADGETS HANGING IN STORE 0.40 5. CU/SCU BOTTLE OF COCK 'STAMINA' PILLS 0.51 6. SCU MEN DRESSING UP COCK; SCU MAN APPLYING COCK MUZZLE; SCU COCK LEG-BANDS (4 SHOTS) 1.16 7. MV DEMONSTRATION OF COCKS FIGHTING IN RING; CU FACE OF COCK (2 SHOTS) 1.37 8. MV COCK TREADMILL DISTRIBUTOR, THAWEECHAI THONGRUAY OPENING COCK TREADMILL; SCU COCK 'WORKING OUT' IN TREADMILL (6 SHOTS) 2.26 9. SOUNDBITE (Thai) COCK TREADMILL DISTRIBUTOR, THAWEECHAI THONGRUAY, SAYING "Roosters that have been trained on the treadmills are fully fit. When they get on the ring, their legs are strong and they never stop the footwork. We train them on the machine gradually, start from five minutes a day, then ten, twenty minutes. It takes twenty minutes per fighting round. If we train them thirty minutes a day, they will always be fit and strong." 2.57 10. MV/SCU COCKFIGHTING ACCESSORIES/ GADGETS IN SHOP (2 SHOTS) 3.08 11. (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) THAWEECHAI THONGRUAY, SAYING "Right now I don't export. But I have regular foreign customers who come in from Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia and carry the product home, it's quite heavy, twenty kilograms. But in the future, if business picks up, we'll recruit more staff to handle export." 3.35 12. MV/SCU COCKS IN RING; CU FACE OF COCK (4 SHOTS) 4.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 14th May 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- Country: Thailand
- Reuters ID: LVAF2D12KPDTB48IGRE313AG81P5
- Story Text: They take their cock fighting seriously in Thailand.
So seriously that many cock owners are now using custom-made
cock treadmills, to keep their prize-winning birds 'fighting
fit'.
For hundreds of years cock fighting has been a
much-loved pastime in Thailand.
In villages around the country and even in the capital,
Bangkok, men crowd around cardboard rings and watch the
exciting and often brutal battles.
But It's also 'big business' -- with owners of pedigreed
game cocks able to make up to a million baht (22 thousand
U.S. dollars) in prize money from each competition.
With so much to be gained, more and more breeders are
getting serious about taking care of their birds and what
better way to keep a cock strong and healthy -- than a
custom-made treadmill.
Thaweechai Thongruay is Thailand's one and only cock
treadmill distributor. He claims his contraptions help improve
the stamina of the birds, and keep them from getting fat.
"Roosters that have been trained on the treadmills are
fully fit. When the get on the ring, their legs are strong and
they never stop the footwork," he said.
Each treadmill has a small motor which powers a belt that
can be sped up or slowed down during training.
"We train them on the machine gradually, start from five
minutes a day, then 10, 20 minutes. It takes 20 minutes per
fighting round. If we train them 30 minutes a day, they will
always be fit and strong".
The devices cost about 10 thousand baht ($220 U.S.
dollars) and Thaweechai says there's lot of interest in the
treadmills from overseas cock owners, many of them traveling
to Thailand from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, to buy
the contraptions.
But it's not just treadmills that owners are turning to,
to keep their animals healthy. Cock shops around the country
offer breeders a range of specialised medicines for their
birds. From heart-strength tablets, to anti-diarrhoea
capsules. There are also cock foot-pads, cock leg-bands,
hand-knitted cock muzzles, and not to forget the cock
carry-bag.
In recent years the cock fighting industry has tried to
clean up it's reputation as being a cruel sport.
Under new rules, official fights last for five rounds of
five minutes each.
Animal rights groups continue to oppose the tradition,
claiming it's a bloody sport that encourages animal abuse. In
rural bouts it's not uncommon for birds to fight 12 rounds of
25 minutes each, some die during the fight.
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