A rooster fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight in southern India has killed its owner, police said Saturday. The bird had a knife attached to his leg and was forced to fight with another rooster. He tried to escape, and when his owner tried to stop him, he cut him near his groin.
The man died from loss of blood before he could reach a hospital in the Karimnagar district of Telangana state, local police officer Jeevan told AFP. The man was among 16 people organizing the cockfight, Jeevan said.
The rooster was not rescued and sent to a sanctuary. Instead, after being briefly held at a local police station, he was sent to a chicken farm, probably to be slaughtered and sold as meat.
“We are searching for the 15 people involved in organizing the illegal fight,” Jeevan said. They could face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a cockfight.
Cockfights are banned but still common in rural areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha states.
Specially-bred roosters have 7.5-centimeter (three-inch) knives or blades tied to their legs, and people bet on who will win the extremely cruel and painful fight between two animals.
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