The cockfighting culture is alive and well in Utah. It exists just below the surface of the mainstream culture, but authorities are certain that organized events are as plentiful each weekend as high school sporting events.

In January, police arrested 19 people in connection with a tournament in Utah County, which took place in a barn. Authorities seized 25 gamecocks and turned them over to a local animal shelter.

Earlier this week, police arrested nine people and seized almost 100 birds in connection with a fight in a central Ogden neighborhood.

In both instances, people were charged with cruelty to animals, a class B misdemeanor. That is the harshest penalty available. State lawmakers this year refused to pass a bill that would have made cockfighting a third-degree felony. Not that this would have kept the fights from occurring. It would, however, have made punishments more appropriate.

How many more such events go undetected each week? How much money changes hands? How many birds die? Without more serious enforcement, the problem will continue — just below the surface.

To many of the people involved, cockfighting is a cultural phenomenon that reaches back generations. Their fathers and grandfathers were involved. They were raised without any inkling that such a thing might be wrong or cruel. And so they stage elaborate fights, sometimes complete with grandstands and concessions, and they stage lookouts to warn everyone when police are coming.

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But, culture or not, this is a practice that must be stopped. The fights themselves are cruel. Birds are bred specifically to be fighters, and they are equipped with razer-sharp instruments that inflict mortal wounds. Often, the birds are fed on steroids and other substances that increase testosterone levels and make them more aggressive.

Beyond the cruelty, however, cockfights invite a culture of gambling and drug abuse, which can result in more serious crimes.

If state lawmakers were to increase the penalties, courts could send convincing messages to the people involved. Their involvement suddenly would not be worth the risk. And if Utahns in general were more aware of what goes on in their own neighborhoods, they could help law enforcement keep a handle on the problem.

This form of entertainment is of no value to individuals or society.

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