Pointing It Out To You! Dear Mr. President

I often compose letters and comments in my head, it’s really fortunate that most never make it to post. You can only imagine the number of times that I have posted a reply on FaceBook to what I would deem a dumbass question and then hit the delete button before I post a reply. It’s easy to be a smartass, but that’s not my role in this game we call the “Sporting Life”. It is my job to instruct and lead by example. Some people just don’t know how life was before the internet made everyone into Wordsmith Warriors. Some of us got our chops writing letters to other enthusiastic gamefowl owners. Some of us wrote for the Gamefowl Journals. Letters to the editor were a real thing and when we disagreed on a topic the conversations were loud and lively.

So I imagined that I was writing a letter to the President of the United States of America. Here is a powerful man that claims to believe in everything that America is known for, namely FREEDOM…what would I say to plead our case and help to remove the “boot on neck” approach that we’ve seen in the past few years.

Dear Mr. President,

I am a Gamefowl Owner in rural America. I am a blue-collared worker that has worked hard to achieve the “American Dream”. My idea of that dream was to raise these proud, noble warriors that some call “Fighting Roosters”, but to me is goes much deeper than just the fact that these animals actively seek out and enjoy battle. The fighting itself is but a small part of that interest.

The most sacred thing that we have in this single life is “hearth and home” and most all of us would fight to the death to protect that very thing. Some of us are Veterans and we have seen battle and experienced violence in a global arena, cocked and pointed by commanders that were trained to watch men die for the right to win and come back home. I personally would call these men trainers and pitters in my own limited lexicon. A great American President Abraham Lincoln was once rumored to say, once upon a time, when asked by a lady of breeding why he allowed a cockfight to go on, “As long as men kill each other on the battlefield, what gives me the right to deny these roosters”. (Of course I’m paraphrasing here)

You are a man that enjoys the fight, the call of battle - you personally stood on a stage in Butler, PA and screamed to the crowd, “Fight, Fight, Fight”. This was inspiring. You have held MMA bouts on the White House Lawn to millions of cheering and roaring fans. There is pride in fighting and winning over outstanding odds.

We have freedoms that are guaranteed under the constitution that protect property, yet without any reason other than the fact that you raise gamebirds and have them staked out to prevent their injury, we have armed agents of the local, state and federal government come on our property and seize our cameras, phones, terrorize our family and destroy our birds without any reason other than that our farms based on cockfighting hearsay rather than physical proof, and in many cases these animals are destroyed before their case ever comes to court. Generations of breeding gone without any proof of malfeasance in some extreme cases. In most cases where there is mass extermination of our birds, there is little to no physical records of the manner in which these raids were conducted, and very little regard as to how the extermination was accomplished. Some of these birds were shot, some gassed, some had their heads pulled from their bodies while a bootheel was placed on their heads. This is an ignoble death for such a glorious and proud species. If it were a sanctioned extermination, I would think there would be physical proof, but it is all very “hush hush”.

We understand that cockfighting is illegal in the USA. We understand that in any organization there are “bad apples”, we understand that by criminalizing what was legal for generations, we were turned into criminals virtually ovrnight, but we also know that most breeders of gamefowl are not in this criminal element, we are hardworking, tax paying American citizens. We enjoy our birds as is our right. With so many problems facing us in America, government overreach which is being pushed by Animal Rights Activists are destroying rural America farm by farm.

Government Regulations are stifling our traditions and our rights. Media misinformation is putting a nail in the coffins of all animal owners. To me, this reeks of Communism. Destroying farm animals, removes the ability to feed ourselves, and yes these birds are consumed by every farmer that own them.

We are a proud faction of Americans, we deserve the rights guaranteed under the constitution to grow and raise our birds without scrutiny. We deserve the right to live free under the protection of “Old Glory”, we deserve to be heard in a court of law before our property is destroyed. Our soldiers fought and died for these rights.

Life is brutal, and there is no greater tribute to the “American Spirit” than the fighting spirit that is bred into our roosters. We don’t expect everyone to understand why we raise these birds. That is your right under the constitution, but it is our right as those that do understand what these birds represent and to effectively euthanize these animals in illegal raids is a travesty. If there is no evidence of a fight, how can they be seized and destroyed?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

F B McGuinness