Cockfights, which have drawn crowds to small pits and full-blown arenas in towns around Louisiana for generations, will be against the law next week.

On Friday, Louisiana will become the last state to outlaw the fights, a move that enthusiasts say marks the end of a rich rural tradition.

"The culture, the custom of the Cajun people, it's gone," said Chris Daughdrill, who breeds fighting roosters. "It's another one of the rights that big government has taken away from the people."

Maybe so, but supporters and opponents agree the blood sport will not be wiped out entirely. Like bootlegging, cockfights will continue on the sly, although getting caught could mean face fines of up to $1000 (£500) and six-month prison terms.

"They're still going to fight, they're still going to fight for years to come," said Elizabeth Barras, who with her husband ran a cockfighting pit for 14 years. "They've still got cockfighting in every state. They just hide it from the law."

The fights between specially trained roosters are held in arenas or in back yards. The birds are fitted with sharp metal blades or curved spikes on their legs, and instinctively attack each other. The match can last more than an hour, with one or both animals dead or maimed.

In banning the fights, Louisiana relented after years of pressure from the US Humane Society and other animal-rights groups.

Ex-governor Kathleen Blanco, a native of Cajun country, where the fights have deep roots, signed the ban last year, closing a loophole in state law that excluded chickens from animal cruelty laws. -AP