Cockfight

Apologies in advance for anybody shocked or offended by this image.
For a peaceful and sensitive race the Balinese show an astounding lack of interest in animal welfare. Cockfighting is officially banned on the island, but way out in country its still a major part of the culture and heritage of the country. Each bird has a steel blade strapped to its foot and they are encouraged to fight until one bird is dead or obviously disabled. Huge sums of money change hands and the tension is extreme. Understandably they weren't keen on having their photographs taken but I did get some pretty shocking images, however very strangely when I uploaded a few shots to the laptop I went back to the card and all but 27 shots from the beginning of he trip had disappeared. The Balinese gods don't want any bad press it seems.