Man pursues cruel ‘sports'

If you are going to fight finches, it's best if your spouse isn't a canary.

Juarmes Goulart was one of 19 people arrested in New Haven, Conn., and charged with cruelty to animals and gambling last week. Authorities say they confiscated $8,000 and 150 birds, mostly saffron finches.

Goulart, owner of the house where the match was to occur, denied the charges, saying he just liked to hear the birds sing. “I take care of the birds,” he told the AP. “They're like my son.”

His wife sang a different verse. She said her husband trained birds to fight. Mrs. Goulart, who said finch fights have been going on among the area's Brazilian population for years, described how birds peck each other. According to police, some of the birds were missing an eye.

Let's hope that South Carolina “sportsmen” don't take to the idea. The state suffers humiliation enough from frequent media reports about dog-fighting or cock-fighting rings.

Two types of finches visit feeders in my yard: House finches and American goldfinches. The latter species, especially the males, are among the most beautiful birds we see.

Other than pushing each other from the thistle feeder, goldfinches seldom attack each other, although one testy male seems intent on denying other males a seat at the table. The less aggressive male seldom goes far, waiting for the bully to become distracted so he can sneak back.

House finches would rather make love than war. As soon as one brood fledges, they're cleaning out the nest and starting another family. That's probably why they outnumber other birds.

Most animals will fight, whether for territory, food or mating rights, but fights normally aren't to the finish. Once the weaker animal leaves the field or displays other signs of submission, the fight ceases. Nevertheless, man exploits the aggressive tendencies of other species. He will raise dogs or chickens — and we now know, songbirds — specifically for their fighting prowess.

Despite protestations by advocates of these “sports” to the contrary, a common factor is blood lust. The animal's fate is predestined. Combatants either lose and are destroyed, or eventually sustain crippling injuries. The end result is the same: A short, brutal life, followed by execution.

My views on animal fights are colored by an experience during my youth.

I was interested in what we called Siamese fighting fish, but which are now commonly called bettas (Betta splendens). Betta courtship and brood-rearing are fascinating. The male builds a nest of bubbles, then squeezes the female to force her to extrude eggs, which he simultaneously fertilizes. He picks up each egg and blows it into the nest. Once mating is complete, the female must be removed or he will kill her.

The male betta jealously guards the nest and rescues any egg or offspring that falls to the aquarium floor. When the fry, which at first look like specks of pepper, can swim, the father has to be removed or he will devour them.

When the bettas were old enough for solid food, I fed them live mosquito larvae, which I scooped out of a bucket of stagnant water I maintained for that purpose. After the weather turned cold, I fed them maggots harvested from rotting potatoes. After months of such TLC, shelves in one room were lined with small jars, each containing a fish. As they get older, bettas have to be separated to prevent fighting.

Most of the fish I swapped for other tropical fish with a neighborhood pet store, but I kept four especially beautiful males. Each was a different color, with long flowing fins that shined iridescently in the light. One day, out of curiosity, I put two males together. Within seconds, they had shredded each other's fins.

I immediately separated the bedraggled fish, but the damage had been done. I was heartsick.

Whenever I recall that “fight,” I am reminded by what Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, the central figure in several John Updike novels, said in recalling how childhood buddies made ants explode with a magnifying glass, directing rays of the sun at them.

“We are cruel enough without meaning to be,” he said.