A 55-year-old man lost his life after a rooster with razors tied to its limbs broke free during a cockfight in India.
Saripalli Venkateswara Rao was watching the match on Friday in the village of Pragadavaram, Andhra Pradesh state, when the bird left him bleeding to death.
Despite being illegal across the country, the practice is still popular in parts of the country and involves a large amount of betting.
As an organiser held up a rooster to drop it into the arena, it broke free and started kicking, fatally slicing Venkateswara Rao in the abdomen.
An Indian Supreme Court ban on cockfighting was passed under the 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
But that doesn’t stop them from happening, particularly in the East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Thousands of birds die every year as fights are held during a number of Indian festivals including Makar Sankranti, Bhogi, Kanuma, which all fell this month.
Roosters are raised on a diet of protein-rich foods including almonds, cashew nuts and meat and pumped with steroids and antibiotics to bulk them up for fighting.
Once they are big enough, sharp blades are tied to their limbs and they are made to fight until one dies or is critically injured.
