The mayors of the Guam districts of Santa Rita and Umatac are asking the territory's government to consider excluding cockfighting from a bill that will outlaw gambling.
On Monday, the Senate unanimously voted to approve bill 19, which will outlaw all gambling on the island once the public hospital's debt has been paid off.
But the mayor of Santa Rica, Dale Alvarez, says cockfighting is a cultural institution among Guamanians, and banning it would just drive the practice underground.
Mr Alvarez told the Pacific Daily News that betting is a way for cockfighters to make a return on their investment and time put in to training chickens.
He says nobody would be interested in cockfighting if it was done without gambling.
