Korean Air has halted shipments of roosters to the Philippines following investigations into alleged smuggling of fighting birds and the introduction of U.S. legislation targeting the practice.
The airline’s internal policy change cuts off a transportation route used by networks tied to cockfighting, according to animal welfare groups that documented the trade. Investigators say some estimates place imports of fighting birds at up to 40,000 annually from the United States to the Philippines. Individual birds can sell for as much as $2,000, and online cockfighting—known as e-sabong—generated billions in wagers in recent years.
Investigators traced shipments from farms in states including Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas to brokers who arranged transport through international flights. Birds were reportedly routed through South Korea before arriving in Manila.
Cockfighting is illegal under U.S. federal law, including bans on transporting animals for fighting purposes across state or national borders. However, enforcement has been uneven, advocates say, allowing the trade to persist.
While U.S.-based airlines already prohibit shipments of live birds to the Philippines, some foreign carriers reportedly continue to allow them. Animal welfare groups say they will continue pressing airlines and governments to tighten restrictions.
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