As you said, these kind of traditions where animals are involved in such games are not that easy to eliminate because it's already part of that specific county's tradition, I know for a fact that these people who indulge in such games do know that chickens are living things but despite of that fact, they still chose to raise some of these chickens to prepare them for a fight when they grow older.
Not all chickens are designed for farming or poultry raising. Those fighting chickens do have a breed and can't be compared to the capability of those in the poultry. In other words, these fighting chickens are useless when raised as poultry for food or egg production purposes, and as a result, they are used in cockfighting.
People should just accept that these games will continue to exist especially in those countries that allow the operation of this.
As long as the operations are running legally, that's fine. Hunt down those running illegally as they are not contributing to the revenue of the country.
Yet, it's all the same because after all, it is still a chicken no matter what breed it is or what's their design and eventually, the people are still the ones who will decide what's their fate because if we go in rural areas, breeds don't matter as chickens are chickens as long as they will lay some eggs and reproduce.
Anyway, back to the topic, I know we all have our own beliefs and views about these things. We should also know and shouldn't forget that we all have our own differences, these kinds of traditions will not cease even if we like it or not because as long as the government will allow it, operations will still continue.