Animals in Sports: Exciting Sports Involving Animals

There are many sports that involve the use of animals. Most of these games have often been traditionally adopted but lately they are still gaining popularity. In some of these games, people participate to varying degrees. Games such as horse racing, dock fighting, fox hunting, terrier work, and polo are great fun to watch.

Most of these sports involve training and selective breeding. Those who love watching animal races can play games like betting on horses that make the game more interesting to watch and follow. In this article, we will explore different animal sports and commonly used animals.

Run

Running is one of the animal sports most enjoyed by most people. Some of these events, like horseback riding, will involve humans riding the animals. However, in some breeds, only the animal is used. In such races, animals are trained for a certain time. Some sports also involve riders, but instead of riding the animals, they are pulled. These competitions include dog sled, harness and chariot races, which have their origins in ancient Greece and Rome.

Other major races include greyhound racing, which dates back to the 1800s in the United States, where dogs were brought from Europe to control the hare population. There are other forms of racing, such as pigeon racing, where racing pigeons return home from afar.

Combat

There are many animal fights, such as cockfighting and dogfighting. However, these games where animals compete are often considered cruel and illegal. There are many legal fights taking place in the world such as camel wrestling and cow fighting. Also, there are other legal sports where humans fight animals, such as bullfighting which has a great history in Portuguese and Spanish tradition.

Not all animals are great for animal fighting, such as cricket fighting, which is a popular sport in Hong Kong and Macau. Animal fighting in which animals are killed is known as black sports and was historically primarily for entertainment. These were often dogfights, in which different types of animals are placed in a pit. It ranges from badger fights to rat fights and lion fights.

Chase

Hunting games have been around for a long time. This has become less due to the domestication of animals and agriculture. In modern times, hunting is legal, and in some areas hunters can obtain a hunting license. Some animals, like dogs, may be on the hunting side or be hunted themselves. Foxhunting is one of the best known forms of hunting.

Last words

Animals in sports can be fantastic to watch. Even though some forms of animal sports are banned in some parts of the world, some are embraced and regulated. If you love animal sports, you can check out and enjoy events in your area. You should also sign up for training some of these animals or actively participate in competitions.