As stated in the description, the outcomes of this project will be based on the data collected during my PhD, "Of casteadores, gallos y galleras: the cockfight world in the Canary Islands" (Ontillera-Sánchez, 2020). The aim of my PhD was to explore the world of cockfighting in the Canary Islands, where over three consecutive years (2016-2018) a wide range of issues were researched. Given its legal status, the cockfight in the Canary Islands is not a prohibited event held in secret locations, where those who attend may be prosecuted, as is the case in the UK and most European countries. Therefore, the study was not restricted to the fights themselves, but it was also an exploration of the encompassing world of cockfighting, including breeding, training, and socialising, that brought about those public fights and performances. To achieve that, I adopted an ethnographic perspective in which participant observation and interviewing were essential methodological tools. By presenting detailed ethnographic accounts of this world, this thesis shows the importance of understanding the rearing of gamecocks to fully grasp the meaning given to the fights by Canarian breeders and aficionados. With the help of narrative fragments and quotations from my interviews, I also offer an ethnographic description of cockfights according to eight different aspects of the event. Essentially, aficionados go to watch and admire the drama of the contest, the fighting birds’ performance. In the Spanish archipelago, breeders can compete both in single-date championships (campeonatos) and weekly leagues (contratas). These two methods of organisation represent one of the singularities of the cockfights in the Canary Islands where also the relatively low importance of betting, in comparison with other regions, represents another peculiarity of the event. Lastly, by introducing several quotations from the fieldwork in which breeders and aficionados give their views on roosters, this thesis demonstrates how breeders perceive fighting birds as animals of a unique nature.Cockfighting is a controversial event because of its, at least from outside perspectives, focus on violence, aggression, injury, and death. According to Marvin (1984:60) cockfighting lies within a group of activities such as hunting (e.g., Sánchez-Garrido (2010); Marvin (2007)), sports (e.g., Del-Campo, 2003), and other games and celebrations which involve competition between animals, humans or different performances. Cultural anthropology has usually paid attention to these practices to try to understand what, and how, they express relationships between and among humans and animals (Marvin, 1984:60). With this in mind, the project explores the world of cockfighting in the Canary Islands, where over three consecutive years (2016-2018) a wide range of issues were researched. Drawing on my existing research, I will produce academic articles and chapters that will explore and analyse the world of cockfighting in the Canary Islands as a whole. Given its legal status, the cockfight in the Canary Islands is not a prohibited event held in secret locations, where those who attend may be prosecuted, as is the case in the UK and most European countries. Therefore, the study was not restricted to the fights themselves, but it was also an exploration of the encompassing world of cockfighting, including breeding, training, and socialising, that brought about those public fights and performances. In my PhD I argued that understanding the rearing of gamecocks is essential to fully grasp the meaning given to the fights by Canarian breeders and aficionados. Essentially, aficionados go to watch and admire the drama of the contest, the fighting birds' performance. This project will interrogate how and why breeders and aficionados perceive fighting birds as animals of a unique nature. In the final chapter of my PhD thesis, "Fighting birds are not puppies" I argued that fighting birds are selectively bred and raised by humans, but breeders do not consider them domestic nor tamed animals. In this respect, they share these characteristics with the fighting bull in Andalusia (Marvin, 1988:88-90). Marvin's expertise on Human-Animal Studies and bullfighting, particularly his relationship with Spanish bullfighting breeders in Andalusia, have been the reason for choosing him as my primary mentor for this project. That will help me address the similarities and differences between fighting bulls and fighting birds to provide a better understanding of both practices and shed some light on the interesting cultural terms of casta (caste) and raza (race). As well as the high impact value of the academic articles/chapters themselves, my participation in academic conferences and seminars will generate debate around human-animal studies and multispecies ethnography. Moreover, this project organised the online course "Human-Animal studies: an introduction for postgraduate students" (2022) at the University of Roehampton, as part of the Research Development Programme (RSDP) that PhD students need to complete before submission of their thesis. This RSDP course contributed to a better understanding of one of the most rapidly growing international fields of research. Specifically, in demonstrating how ethnographic research is one of the tools which allows exploration of the relation between human and nonhuman animals in many different settings. The course introduced major interdisciplinary, and multiple university projects, that explore issues of multi-species relationships, breeding and domestication. In consequence, these materials provided an interesting topic for a broad range of postgraduate students.

Ethnography (please see Related Resources for more information)