A cock fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight has killed its owner. It killed its owner when it tried to escape by slashing his groin, police in India have revealed.
The fighting cock had a blade strapped to its leg ready to take on an opponent when it tried to flee the vicious blood sport.
His owner was cut and rushed to hospital in rural Telangana state but died of blood loss before he arrived.
The killer rooster was briefly held at the local police station earlier this week before it was sent to a poultry farm.
The man’s death has sparked a manhunt for the organisers of the illegal competition, at which another 15 people were participating in the village of Lothunur.
“We are searching for the other 15 people involved in organising the illegal fight,” local police officer B. Jeevan told AFP.
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 – particularly around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.
Specially-bred roosters have three-inch knives or blades tethered to their legs and punters bet on who will win the gruesome fight.
Thousands of roosters die each year in the battles which, despite the efforts of animal rights groups, attract large crowds.
Cockfighting was banned in England and Wales in 1835 and 60 years later it was also banned in Scotland, where it drew large crowds on Glasgow’s Queen Street throughout the 17th century.Â