The winds of hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped apart Louisiana and left the national spotlight shining onto the great state of Louisiana.

And that spotlight almost certainly helped shine some light on an ugly, archaic practice that’s finally about to be outlawed.

On Friday, a new law will take effect, making cockfighting illegal. Louisiana is the last state in the Union to allow the blood sport.

Animal rights groups have lobbied for the ban on cockfighting for years, but it wasn’t until state leaders decided that, with the national spotlight still on the state, it had better clean up its act.

And we’re glad the state is finally making a genuine effort to stop the sport.

Critics of the new ban say it destroys a long-standing tradition in the Cajun culture.

Not so many years ago, other long-standing traditions in America were destroyed, too — fortunately. How many of us remember a time when blacks were treated like second-class citizens or when women were not allowed to vote?

Both were long-standing traditions, but both were horribly wrong.

The same can be said for the tradition of allowing roosters to fight to the death for the enjoyment of spectators.

Just passing the law won’t end the practice entirely; it will just drive it underground. A few diehards will almost certainly continue the practice by simply hiding from law enforcement.

Strict enforcement and prosecution will be needed to rid the state of the bloody sport once and for all and to keep Louisiana moving toward a progressive future.