An online petition for the ban on cockfighting in the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and overseas departments and territories » and the closing of the buildings where these fights are organized, the gallodromes, collected more than 20,000 signatures.
“ Instead of dewclaws, they are put on some sort of sharp edged object so that they hurt themselves. “A spectacle that is intolerable for Gabrielle Paillot, activist for the defense of animal rights.
Cockfighting is, however, prohibited by law anywhere in the territory, unless an unbroken tradition can be established. This is the case in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, but also in Hauts-de-France where Jean-Luc Leroy, 65, lives. He raises around forty roosters. fighters », the star breed of Pas-de-Calais. The question of abuse, he brushes it aside. The rooster would naturally be a fighter according to him. ” If you don’t separate them, it won’t work. They will fight “.
There were a hundred gallodromes in his region. Often in the back room of a city cafe. For him, it is therefore a matter of tradition above all. But for Muriel Fusi, spokesperson for the Animalist Party, it is the denial of equality, under the law, that challenges her:
” If you do the same thing in Lyon, you find yourself punishable for acts of cruelty and disgrace on animals “. Five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, which therefore does not concern breeders like Jean-Luc Leroy. He can still hope to find a dozen gallodromes in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Young people ” coquettish “, as fighting cock lovers are called here, they no longer run the streets.