The killer cocks of Oregon

In the '80s, faced with regulations that would cripple their industry, loggers argued that protecting animals like the pint-size spotted owl would cost hundreds of jobs. A popular bumper sticker read: "A logger only needs the backseat of his truck to make love, why does it take the whole woods for an owl?" It was a plea to lawmakers: Certainly the value of a man's lifestyle and livelihood trumps the rights of a single species. That argument still gets some sympathy, but by and large it has been losing in recent legislative and legal battles. A fluid job market and the ability to retrain workers for different industries undermined the "jobs vs. animals" case.

The economic argument against game hen breeding took a back seat to the more salable freedom argument. (Breeders kept relatively quiet about the size and scope of the industry that would be shut down.) Their most successful rhetoric echoes civil rights and pro-choice campaigns: Keep your laws off our industry. These are complicated debates precisely because breeders have adopted the very language and philosophy of liberal movements -- the same set of ideals with which many animal rights supporters identify.

"Their agenda is to take away liberties of everyone in the United States," explains Dale Potter, a breeder in eastern Oregon. Potter got involved when a neighbor brought over a few chickens and offered some theories about genetics and breeding. The science captivated him. "It's like my brains against other breeders' brains," he says, referring to the riddle of producing strong game hens.

Like many breeders, Potter thinks the animal rights movement unfairly singles out breeders and, moreover, goes too far with proposed regulations. He characterizes the activists as zealots. "Their agenda is to eliminate all animal usage," says Potter. "First it's circuses and from there they constantly try to upgrade. What are they going to do next -- regulate dogs and cats?"

The argument that breeders are discriminated against has halted many liberal politicians from supporting outright bans. Unlike the economic argument, which usually bought votes only from conservative representatives, it's as if the liberal rhetoric has come home to roost.

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GOING UNDERCOVER

Ten years ago, Eric Sakach infiltrated the Oregon cockfighting circuit. He spent two years hanging out at livestock auctions, showing interest in birds and, ultimately, going to fights.

The crowning achievement of his undercover work was a bust on Deer Island. Sakach led a small army of sheriffs, local police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents into a sprawling ranch where three rings were patrolled by armed guards. The agents found nearly $100,000 in cash and arrested 384 people. Even more disturbing to Sakach is that while rifling through drawers at the site's office, he came across several photographs of himself. After that haunting discovery, Sakach requested a desk job. He's now the director of the West Coast Regional Office for the Humane Society in Sacramento, Calif.

Sakach is one of only a handful of experts and law enforcement officers with a keen knowledge of cockfighting and breeding; unlike in the drug trade, enforcement agents are few and far between. One Oregon agent with an extensive background in dogfights and cockfights in Nevada recently moved to Lane County to work with law enforcement agents. Another officer with a record of monitoring cockfighters and breeders works with the game division of the Oregon state police, but was recently promoted, taking him a step away from on-the-ground patrolling. Not surprisingly, there is scant funding for cockfight patrols.

"The statistical chance to be busted is not higher than being caught for dealing drugs," says Sakach. He points out that even as laws restricting fighting and breeding are amassing, the popularity of the sport is swelling -- as are the cash bounties to be won. One bird can easily win $5,000 at a single fight. "They are playing the odds that they are not going to get caught," Sakach says.

Sakach doubts Sen. Deckert's and Rep. Kropf's bills will survive the gantlet of committee meetings and lobbyist attacks. A much more likely scenario, he says, is that Oregon will stand alone as the Western state where breeding remains legal and penalties for cockfighting lax. Washington, Idaho and California all have outright bans.

"If that happens," says Sakach, "you can expect that Oregon will become a magnet for cockfighting."

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