An "inhumane" cockfighting ring has seen roosters use blades which are "curved like ice picks" duke it out as punters bet on the warring birds.
The grim ring of betting has recently seen a customs haul confiscate nearly 100 blades which, when in the hands of cockfighting hosts, are attached to the birds.
Fatalities are common in the fights, but so far two people have also been killed when the out-of-control animals found themselves riled up at an "extreme cockfighting event".
READ MORE: Two men dead at 'extreme cockfighting event' where knives are strapped to angry roosters
Customs officers in Texas, United States, recently took in the 96 rooster blades which are tied to the legs of roosters during fights.
US Customs and Border Protection confirmed the haul of blades, which were seized while a driver attempting to take them into the US, where they are barred, was fined £391 ($500).
Cockfighting has been outlawed in the United States, while illegal gambling activities were denounced by Laredo Point of Entry head Alberto Flores, CNN reported.
He said: "Cockfighting is an inhumane, age-old practice that is primarily associated to other illegal activities such as gambling and trafficking."
Although the blades are banned in the US, they are highly sought after in other parts of the world, while drug cartels in Mexico are believed to use the cockfighting operations to distribute drugs.
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In other parts of the world, the morally disgusting betting option has proven fatal for not just the competitors, but those attending also.
The Daily Star previously reported two fatalities at a cockfighting event in Andhra Pradesh, India, with a 20-year-old and another man killed by the volatile birds.
Said animals reportedly had the hook-like knives on their feet and flew into the crowd, leaving the two men with deep and fatal cuts to their legs and bodies.
A festival goer defended the gambling sport as one of the "biggest attractions" of the Sankranti festival, which is when the two men are believed to have died.
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