History Main / BeastlyBloodsports

* "Canned hunts", in which the designated prey animal is released from a cage and prevented from leaving the area so a paying customer can shoot it, are an ugly modern variant of this trope.

Animal versus animal bloodsports involving two similar animals include [[CockyRooster cockfighting]] and dogfighting, most prominently. With dissimilar animals involved, bear-baiting and badger-baiting -- having dogs attack a leashed bear or badger, respectively -- may be observed. Animal versus animal bloodsports may also involve betting, and the attendant attempts to [[ThrowingTheFight rig the game.]] Naturally, animals themselves can't be paid off to take a dive, so the methods used to change the animal's chances may be clinical, perhaps involving the services of a not-so-KindlyVet.

* Mugen is seen betting on a beetle fight in episode 11 of ''Manga/SamuraiChamploo''.

* The ''[[Creator/ECComics Vault of Horror]]'' story "The Pit!" (#40, 1954) has competing cockfighting and dogfighting rings; the money-hungry women who run them are jealous of each other's profits and goad their {{Henpecked Husband}}s into escalating the fights to draw more customers until the [[BewareTheNiceOnes two men]] decide to pit the women against each other. Got a NoAnimalsWereHarmed adaptation for the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' TV show, where the husbands are MMA fighters whose wives are their overcompetitive managers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Kitbull}}'' [[BigFriendlyDog the pit bull]] is forced into a dog fighting ring by its abusive owners.

As for when humans are involved, bullfighters -- perhaps because they require a lot of athleticism and skill and actually put themselves at risk (although still not as much as the bull), rather than just having the animals fight it out -- may be a little better. Some Spaniards in RealLife are defensive about bullfighting as a [[ValuesDissonance distinctive part of their culture which critics and foreigners don't get]], although contrary to popular belief, a majority of modern Spaniards dislike the sport or are at least indifferent to it.

* The cockfight mini-game in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' allows you to place bets on roosters.

* ''WebOriginal/HamstersParadise'': The AlwaysChaoticEvil harmsters enjoy pitting their Brutes, war animals bred for savagery, in battles to the death. The Decadents in particular become very fond of blood sports, pitting Brutes, gladiators and wild animals against each other in their gladiatorial arenas to enjoy the spectacle of their mutual slaughter.

* In ''The Cross Time Engineer'' by Creator/LeoFrankowski, one of Conrad Stargard's first controversial acts is to euthanize a bear that's being used for bear-baiting. Unfortunately this makes an enemy of the knight who had spent months setting up a trap for it.

As for when humans are involved, bullfighters -- perhaps because they put themselves at risk (although not as much as the bull), rather than just having the animals fight it out -- may be a little better. Some Spaniards in RealLife are defensive about bullfighting, especially against foreign critics, as a [[ValuesDissonance distinctive part of their culture which foreigners don't get]], although a majority of Spaniards dislike bullfighting.