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NEW DELHI (AFP): A rooster equipped with a knife for an illegal cockfight in southern India killed its owner, prompting a manhunt from event organizers, police said Saturday.
The bird had a knife in its leg ready to face an opponent when it inflicted serious groin wounds while trying to escape, officers said.
The victim died of blood loss before he could reach a hospital in the Karimnagar district of Telangana state earlier this week, local police officer B. Jeevan told AFP.
The man was among 16 people organizing the cockfight in the town of Lothunur when the freak accident happened, Jeevan said.
The rooster was briefly held at the local police station before being sent to a poultry farm.
“We are looking for the other 15 people involved in organizing the illegal fight,” Jeevan said.
They could face murder charges, illegal gambling, and stage a cockfight.
Cockfighting is banned, but it remains common in rural areas of the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha, particularly around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.
Specially bred roosters have three-inch (7.5-centimeter) knives or blades tied to their legs, and bettors bet on who will win the gruesome fight.
Thousands of roosters are killed each year in battles that, despite the efforts of animal defense groups, draw huge crowds. – AFP
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