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A man bled to his death after being struck by a rooster during an illegal cockfighting event in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.
Saripalli Venkateswara Rao, 55, was just standing nearby when one of the organizers accidentally let go of a rooster, which then slashed Rao on the thigh, as per The Times of India on Jan. 17.
The rooster had a razor attached to its leg, following cockfighting tradition and rules. As a duel to the death, cockfights go on until one of the chickens is critically injured or dead, rendering the other the winner.
Cockfighting is illegal in India through their parliament’s 1960 Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act, which puts a ban on organizing or inciting animal fights, the report said.
The High Court of Hyderabad in 2018 called the attention of the government of Andhra Pradesh to enforce the cockfighting ban, as it turned out that the state government has been allegedly letting cockfighting ensue, according to human and animal rights group Humane Society International.
In the Philippines, cockfighting, locally called “sabong,” is also widespread. However, organizing and betting on cockfighting events is legal in the country, as long as they are regulated by the government, which considers cockfighting a national heritage, as per Presidential Decree 1802.
The Philippine Cockfighting Law of 1974 meanwhile states that cockfighting, in relation to Filipino customs, should not be exploited for business or commercial purposes, but must rather be used “as a vehicle for the preservation and perpetuation of native Filipino heritage and thereby enhance our national identity.” Ian Biong/JB
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