Dozens of chickens on their way to a chicken processing factory were killed when a trailer overturned near Kumeu, west of Auckland, today.  The trailer was loaded with 10,000 chickens in crates and several crates broke open, killing dozens of chickens and blocking the road for three hours. 

Sergeant Ian Byrne, from the Henderson police, said most of the chickens which got loose sat calmly on the road and there was no need for foul language from police to bring them under control.  "They were very well-behaved chickens." 

The chickens were all rounded up within an hour or so by police and factory process workers and the road was cleaned down before it was reopened.  "We are looking at dozens of chickens (dead)," he said. 

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahomans voted Tuesday to ban cockfighting, a bloody spectacle that draws gamblers to watch roosters fitted with razors fight to the death.

Voters approved the ban 55 percent to 45 percent to end the rural tradition, leaving only two other states in the nation that allow it.

"It shows that we are not a haven for animal abusers," said Janet Halliburton, chairwoman of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting. "We have been the laughing stock of the nation."  Halliburton said she felt vindicated after pushing for a ban for three years.  "We never thought it would be so difficult or cost so much or take so long," she said. "We are finally vindicated and the people of Oklahoma got their chance to vote. That's what the cockfighters feared."

The political match that pitted animal rights activists against gamecock breeders proved much tighter than
polls had showed. A poll last week predicted the ban would prevail by a 2-to-1 margin. Kelly Barger, spokesman for Oklahoma Game Fowl Breeders, said he would either have to kill his 100 gamecocks or risk being arrested.  "I'm disappointed beyond words," he said. "When you are outspent 7-to-1 in a statewide campaign it's very hard to get your message out." 

Barger said cockfighting supporters believe the initiative petition that brought the issue to a statewide vote was illegal and that they would pursue it in federal court. "Rest assured, this is not the end of this issue," he said. "This is only a setback."  Ranchers who raise gamecocks said the ban was about big-city dwellers telling rural ones how to live.
Gamecocks, they said, are treated better than chickens that end up in the grocery store's meat department.

Oklahomans also defeated a measure proposed by cockfighting supporters. State Question 698 would have
nearly doubled the number of signatures needed on initiative petitions to force elections in the future on
issues dealing with animals.  The proposal failed, with 53 percent voting against it.

Supporters of the measure say it was designed to protect pastimes such as hunting and fishing and occupations such as cowboy rodeoing. But opponents said cockfighting supporters pushed for State Question 698 in hopes of eventually overturning the cockfighting ban in the Legislature.  The ban makes it a felony, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years, to hold cockfights, keep equipment or facilities for cockfighting or possess the birds.

Cockfighting became legal in Oklahoma in 1963, when the state Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a fowl is
not an animal and is exempt from state laws against animal fighting. It's legal only in two other states:
Louisiana and New Mexico.  A federal law that takes effect in May bans interstate and international transport of fighting roosters. The maximum penalty will be $15,000 per bird.

Most Oklahomans never have seen a cockfight, which puts specially bred gamecocks in dirt pits to fight to the
death. The roosters are fitted with razor-sharp spurs or knives on their claws. Illegal gambling is often the big draw. Despite polls showing voters would approve a ban by a wide margin, only one of three governor candidates was for it.

Republican Steve Largent called cockfighting a "barbaric practice that reflects poorly on our state." Gov. Frank Keating, also a Republican, called it "embarrassing to Oklahoma."  Governor-elect Brad Henry said the ban includes unreasonably strict penalties, while independent Gary Richardson said counties, not the state, should decide the issue.