KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region — Across the Kurdistan Region people gather to pit their partridges against one another's in fighting rings, including in the southern city of Kirkuk. "It's Thursdays in Kirkuk and Harir, Saturdays in Koya and Rania," said Sabhan Abdullah, a partridge owner. "In Erbil, Sulaimani and Duhok, it's Fridays. The days have been set." The fights can go on for hours until one of the pigeons asserts its dominance. "We do it for fun, nothing else," Abdullah added. "No money involved or anything. Whoever wins is happy and who doesn't is sad." The most expensive partridge at this week's fight was valued at $1,000, but in other cities they can fetch $4,000. "We as an organization are against fighting," said Dr. Sulaiman Tamer, the founder and president of the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights, but acknowledged it is popular in some parts of Kurdistan. "This fighting is a part of our culture," he said. Tamer, who is a veterinarian from Duhok and has treated birds injured in fighting, said he believes the sport is legal under Iraqi and Kurdish law.
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