Some of the kidnapped have actively participated in cockfights. They are suspected of damaging their roosters in order to bet for their opponents.
of the Philippines the island nation is plagued by a peculiar wave of suspected abductions related to cockfighting popular in the country, reports include BBC and news agency AFP.
Six cockfighting security guards are suspected of kidnapping six others. They were seen forcing people into a van in the Philippine capital Manila last January. Suspects denying acts.
According to the investigation, the abducted persons were active participants in cockfights. They are suspected of damaging their roosters in order to lose, so they could bet on their opponents at the same time.
At the same time, three police officers are suspected of kidnapping and robbing a man last August. The victim is suspected of running a fake betting site related to cockfighting, AFP says.
In the Philippines a total of 34 people are missing, whose disappearances are suspected to be related to cockfighting. All the disappearances have occurred in the Manila area.
According to the authorities, the hope of finding the missing is low, if not non-existent.
“I wouldn’t call them missing cockfighters, but probably dead cockfighters”, Minister of Justice Jesus Remulla said this week.
Authorities said more arrests related to the abductions are likely.
Cockfighting is popular in the Philippines, with locals spending millions of dollars on it every week. In many countries, cockfighting is banned because it is considered animal cruelty.
In a cockfight, two roosters attack each other. Usually, roosters have a metal blade attached to their legs. Usually roosters fight each other to the death. People bet on the winner of the fight.
In the Philippines, the popularity of cockfights grew during the corona pandemic, when live broadcasts of the fights began to be organized, where you could bet on the winner online.
The tax revenue from the fights eased the Philippine economy during the pandemic, but the country’s president until June 2022 Rodrigo Duterte banned online cockfighting shortly before the end of his term of office.
Traditional cockfighting is still legal in the Philippines.
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