A little over a year ago, we pointed out that North Carolina had amended its law on cockfighting, making the practice a Class I felony. That may have curbed chicken battles in the state, but apparently hasn’t stopped North Carolinians from engaging in the age-old pursuit.
WRAL reports that 145 people were arrested for cockfighting Sunday in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and about three-quarters of those were North Carolinians.
This isn’t the first time that Tar Heels have slipped over the state line to engage in illegal pursuits. After North Carolina outlawed dueling in 1802, state residents who insisted on taking up arms to settle a dispute often did so in Virginia or South Carolina. The new Encyclopedia of North Carolina tells us that the last recorded duel between North Carolinians involved two men from Wilmington and took place on May 3, 1856 in South Carolina.