Draft:Duck-fighting

Duck-fighting was an English Victorian pastime that replaced cockfighting in some schools as a result of the latter's abolition in 1835.

Background
Cock fighting in schools was an English tradition, especially around Shrove Tuesday with its earliest mention in William Fitzstephen's Latin tract describing London and the amusements of the citizens in the time of King Henry II (1154–1189). It must have been widespread as the Folklore of the Northern counties of England (1879) also states that "The master of Sedbergh Grammar school in Yorkshire was entitled to receive fourpence half-penny a year from each boy on Shrove Tuesday, this being the levy to buy fighting cocks; the practice continued until the time of the Regency."

In 1835 the first Cruelty to Animals Bill was introduced into Parliament by Britain's first Quaker MP, Joseph Pease which passed with a majority of 14. The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 ("An act to consolidate and amend the several laws relating to the cruel and improper treatment of animals, and the mischiefs arising from the driving of cattle and to make other provisions in regard thereto" – to give it its full title)  banned cockfighting as well as other cruel animal sports. Schools, keen to keep their pupils busy and prevent idleness had to find alternative pastimes to keep them occupied - giving rise to the game of Duck-fighting.

The game
There is no full written account of the game, just legend and folklore that some schoolmasters hit on the idea of introducing a game that would instruct and improve carpentry as well as their pupils visual and fine motor skills. The community benefit of the game was recorded in 1845 for the parish entry of Clyne, Sutherland; "Every man was his own carpenter. Every individual in the family has some resource in a trade or other manual labour." When schooling became compulsory for all children aged 5 - 10 in 1880, the benefits seen from this game meant that woodworking became a part of the curriculum, taught to all boys.

For the game ,tradition said pupils could use any type of wood and had from Plough Monday to Shrove Tuesday to carve a duck, of no less than a man's palm in size (about 6 inches). Ducks were allowed to be decorated to represent other people (namely other students or teachers) as long as these were additions to the carving. Prizes were awarded for the best carved / decorated duck. All the ducks would then be lined up on a raised platform / table in a row, and the other pupils would take turns throwing stones to hit the "sitting ducks" off the table from the distance of a cockpit (12 feet). The last duck on the table would then be pronounced the winner, and its owner would be allowed to "duck out" of his chores for the remainder of the term (meaning he was excused from having to do them, which may be where the phrase originates from).

Disappearance
The ever-increasing popularity of Cricket in the 19th Century replaced Duck-fighting as a way to teach pupils hand to eye co-ordination such that by the end of the century the game was no longer being played. It would return in an amended form in the 1940's in the hook a duck game now commonly seen at funfairs up and down Britain.