Supporters of the ban say it is long overdue. Opponents argue the blood sport is misunderstood and an important source of revenue for parts of the state.

Earlier this month, the cockfighting lobby scored a victory when a proposed ban died in the Senate. The battle switched to the state's House, where another bill to ban cockfighting has been introduced.

"My view is that 80 percent of New Mexicans, including myself, think cockfighting is a barbaric practice," said Republican Rep. Ron Godbey, who introduced the bill.

Godbey said the first hearing on his bill should take place in the coming days.

New Mexico and Louisiana are the only U.S. states that permit cockfighting, in which roosters with razor-sharp metal spurs affixed to their legs are placed in an enclosure to fight, often to the death.

Oklahoma banned cockfighting last November. But now it faces court challenges, mostly from rural counties. Opponents of the ban gained temporary injunctions against the law in 22 Oklahoma counties.

The urban centers of Tulsa and Oklahoma City overwhelmingly support the ban.

"Forty-eight other states in this country have banned cockfighting, most of them over 100 years ago," said Danielle Bays, a lobbyist with Animal Protection Voters of New Mexico. "New Mexico's time has come."

TRADITION, FREEDOM AND MONEY

New Mexico cockfighters, mostly Hispanic men from southern and rural areas of the state, say the sport is a matter of culture, tradition and freedom.

It is also a significant source of income for some of the state's impoverished areas that depend on exports of fighting fowl to places such as the Philippines.

"This is about people coming from out of state and trying to control the culture here - a culture they don't understand," said Ronald Barron, president of the New Mexico Game Birds Association, which has more than 7,000 members.

"Cockfighting has been in my family for four generations," said Steve Rodriguez, an association member. "Why don't they worry about people starving or schools? A lot of people make a living doing this."

Barron said New Mexico's cockfighting industry, including items such as the animals, feed, restaurants and lodging, brings in more than $51 million dollars a year to a state that ranks among the country's poorest.

It remains to be seen whether the perception of animal cruelty will outweigh the industry's economic and entertainment benefits for rural communities. As in the battle in Oklahoma, the fight to ban cockfighting pits urban areas against rural regions.

According to a poll by Animal Protection of New Mexico, 81 percent of New Mexicans support a ban on cockfighting, which is already banned in 13 New Mexico counties and in 28 municipalities including Albuquerque.

Despite the support to end the blood sport, a similar ban failed to pass in the legislative session two years ago.

In Oklahoma, judges in counties that have been home to cockfighting said they needed to see if the ban unfairly interferes with commerce or deprives game fowl breeders of property without just compensation - or simply makes felons out of chicken farmers.

Asked if New Mexico cockfighters would consider a legal battle to fight a ban, Barron said, "You bet we'll take this to the courts. There's no doubt about it."