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KABUL (AFP)- The crowd surges forward as two huge mastiffs launch themselves at each other in the ring, before one ends the bout by grabbing the other's throat, and is then paraded in triumph.
Every Friday morning between November and March, thousands of Afghans flock to a makeshift arena on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul to witness such scenes, with thousands of dollars riding on the outcome.
"That was a great fight," says Said Rahim, a 75-year-old dog fighting aficionado and one of 5,000 men and children who watched mastiff Falang win his bout.
"The dogs were very good and it was very special because there was a big bet -- 150,000 afghanis ($3,000)."
The sport brings together Afghanistan's diverse tribes, from southern Pashtuns in turbans to oriental-looking Hazaras from the country's centre and Panjshir people in their traditional pakol wool hats.
But a fierce ethnic rivalry is in evidence.
"People standing on this side are from the north of Afghanistan. On the other side, they are from the south. It's a competition between them and their dogs," says Massud, a translator for the U.S. special forces in Afghanistan.
At the centre of the ring stands the master of ceremonies who announces the upcoming bouts in a voice hoarse with shouting, and wields a large stick to keep the eager spectators from getting too close.
The Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan until it was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001 banned dog fighting because gambling is forbidden under Islam.
The sport attracts large bets in one of the world's poorest countries.
The dogs' owners win between $1,000 and $3,000 for each victory, and the large sums involved lead to some underhand tactics.
"Some people give opium to the dogs to numb the pain. In the south they sometimes give them whisky to make them more aggressive," says spectator Fatih Mohammad, 47.
Dog owner Barat describes the intensive -- and expensive -- preparation the animals undergo before a fight.
"We feed them with eggs, meat milk. It cost 400 afghanis a day. We walk them for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening, sometimes in the hills, so that they get more powerful," he says.
In the ring, the dogs are unleashed by the owners and rise onto their hind legs, each trying to grab the other by the throat.
The owners stand over their animals, shouting encouragement, under the watchful eye of the master of ceremonies.
The most difficult part can be separating the dogs once defeat has been conceded, and the owners sometimes have to throw a bucket of cold water over the animals to get them to loosen their grip.
The battles are fierce, but the spectacle is more a ritual struggle for domination than a fight to the death.
"I have seen hundreds of fights and I have only seen one dog die," says owner Mohebullah.
"The fight stops before that -- usually when one dog tries to get away when he sees he's losing, and then the owners separate them."
Comments (1)
Dog fights bring Afghan tribes together? written by The Watcher,
December 27, 2008
:angry: Dog fights bring Afghan tribes together? Oh this is just GREAT news violence & animal cruelty bring these people together. We are sending our American soldiers to this country for the Afghan people to have democracy & freedom from the Taliban? These dog-fight lovers are NO different from the Taliban when it comes to cruelty. Bring our troops home! Let them fight it out themselves. They all deserve the same treatment they are giving to these animals. It makes it cruelty to children also for exposing their children to these depraved, sadistic acts. Take a look here: http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/animal_fighting_the_final_round/dogfighting_fact_sheet/
Take a look here:
http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/animal_fighting_the_final_round/dogfighting_fact_sheet/