Puerto Rico to Defy Federal Ban on Cockfights

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico will defy the U.S. government and approve a law to keep cockfighting alive, to protect a 400-year-old tradition despite a federal ban that takes effect this week, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The move brought cautious rejoicing in the cockfighting business despite concerns that the U.S. territory is trying to override a federal law that President Trump signed a year ago.

“We are certainly challenging a federal law. We know what that implies,” Rep. Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, who co-authored the bill, told the AP.

He said that Gov. Wanda Vázquez was to sign the bill Wednesday morning and that he expected the fight to end up in federal court.

As word spread, the cockfighting industry cheered the news.

“There’s going to be work!” exclaimed Domingo Ruiz, who owns more than 30 cocks and has spent more than half a century in the business. “We’re going to keep the fight alive.”

https://www.courthousenews.com/puerto-rico-to-defy-federal-ban-on-cockfights/