into the wunderkammer - chinese cricket fighting

a centuries-old tradition in china, cricket fighting has recently come to my attention. particularly around the macau region, crickets are bred especially for this bloodsport. feeding the crickets a variety of corn, wheat, apples, protein, and ginseng, cricket masters breed strong, agile crickets much the way we in the west breed horses or pit bulls.



the crickets are place in an eight-inch plastic case, poked with bamboo sticks (that perennials favorite for de-humanizing the chinese) and fight either to the death or to surrender. according to this article, "The two insects will bite each other with their powerful jaws. Sometimes, all of their legs are bitten off, yet they still jump and bite until death"

these crickets are sold for up to 100,000 yuan ($12,000). there are even allegations of steroid use!