USA Today has a short article on the practice of finch fighting, which apparently is becoming more popular in the United States.  The sickos that participate usually use Saffron Finches Sicalis flaveola because the males are extremely aggressive when it comes to wooing a female.  How does it work?

In the wild, they don’t fight to kill: The losing finch can escape.

But in tight-quarters matches, two males are placed in a segmented cage with a female to bring them to a frenzied state. The separation barrier is removed, and fighting continues until one bird is dead or mortally wounded.

Many of the seized finches’ beaks had been filed to razor sharpness.

Recent arrests and bird seizures in Massachusetts and Connecticut are likely only the tip of the iceberg.  Is there any limit to how low humans will go for entertainment?

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.