Cockfighting as a practice can be found in many places all over the world. In the Northern Mariana Islands, its ethics, legality, and cultural significance have been put to the test. With some claiming it has cultural significance and others raising concerns about animal cruelty, as well as the gambling aspect of the event, it has long been controversial. Ethical questions have been raised about people gambling on animals’ fighting abilities. Specifically, since cockfighting often involves the birds fighting to the death, concerns have been raised about the cruelty towards the animals and how it is unethical to gamble on the lives and wellbeing of said birds.
The commonwealth’s former House Representative Andrew Salas spoke in favor of cockfighting. According to Salas, it is an important political and cultural activity throughout the commonwealth. He also states that it has been wrongfully banned by the Agriculture Improvement Act. The act was signed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump. Salas says the ban goes against the covenant that allows the Northern Mariana Islands a level of governance unique from the other territories. Since cockfighting was banned in the 50 US states in 2008, Salas claims the act specifically targeted the territories.
In November 2022, a federal judge dismissed the case. The judge found that federal interest in both interstate commerce and animal welfare outweighed their involvement in the internal affairs of the commonwealth.
Earlier this year, the three Ninth Circuit judges considered how the commonwealth’s self-governance should be applied in regard to cockfighting in relation to the 1978 Covenant. The Covenant helps determine the North Mariana Islands’ self-governance and its relationship with the United States. In following years additions had been made to the covenant.
Joseph Horey, Salas’ attorney, argued that the ban should continue to not apply to the commonwealth. He reasoned that the initial ban did not apply in the territory’s early days and did not apply to the individual states until they outlawed it. He also argued that since the commonwealth has a governing structure more similar to the 50 states than the other territories, it should not have its internal affairs run by federal interest.
While US Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. did not indicate when or how the court would rule, the other judges have made their positions clear.
“I understand the cultural aspects at concern here,” US Circuit Judge Richard A. Paez said. “The federal interests to protect these animals, why wouldn’t that just prevail here, it’s pretty strong.”
US Circuit Judge Lucy H. Koh took a different stance.
“The federal government previously said as long as cockfighting is legal in that local jurisdiction, then our federal law will not prohibit. So now we change our law in 2018, but now our federal interest is not that strong, if the federal government allowed it for decades, if not hundreds of years,” Koh said.
Horey also disagreed with Paez, stating that federal interest may not be strong at all. He said there is no data suggesting an outsized harm to fighting birds in the commonwealth. Horey also pointed to a covenant against animal cruelty, which excludes cockfighting.
“Why does one prevail over the other? Why does the federal prevail just because it’s federal?” Horey stated.
Representing the US government, Attorney Anna Murphy states that the US government overrides Northern Mariana Islands interests in its internal affairs. She states that cockfighting has an inherent tie to interstate commerce. This is due to the transportation of birds across federal lines and the gambling that follows. While gambling is legal in the US and states can regulate or prohibit it within their borders, there are many regulations regarding interstate and online gambling.
Murphy also highlighted the government’s interest in interstate commerce regulation, saying it should not intrude on internal affairs.
“Cockfighting is a big business, not just a cultural practice, there’s wagering, there’s betting there’s online activity,“ Murphy stated. “It’s not an internal affair either, it inherently has a tie to interstate commerce, it’s not an inherently local thing.”
Horey stated that the government’s statements on the business aspect of cockfighting were speculative. He also said as of yet nothing has been established regarding the finances. This could include the costs of the commonwealth holding such events and the revenue they bring in.
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