After luxury grooming, its bloody end in arena
A rooster in a breding farm
Vijayawada: Journey of thousands of roosters ended on Sunday and Monday in the rich Godavari and Krishna delta regions of Andhra Pradesh as the hapless poor creature ended up in arenas as no forces could stop the blood sport known as cockfights being organised in the name of culture and tradition. These high energetic special roosters are mainly groomed in the rooster farms, which have facilities for breeding, rearing and training for the fights. The breeders buy the high quality roosters for Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 depending on the size and variety of breed. Some roosters are sold even for Rs 1 lakh also.
The rooster farms are mainly located in the rural areas and owners feed them with high nutrient foods of jowar, finger millets, cashew, mutton mince and others products.
The rooster breeding and rearing activity is spread from coastal areas to Telangana also.
The roosters are trained for the cockfights to be held in Sankranti festival season in the Delta region. Lakhs of people from various parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states gather in the erstwhile districts of Krishna and Godavari to enjoy the blood sport for three days in the festival season.
Money in thousands of crores changes hands and punters and cockfight lovers enjoy the game. The winning cocks safely reach their breeding farms as the owners proudly bring back them. Of the two birds fight in the arena, only one survives. With the sharp knives tied to their legs, the roosters hardly last 10 minutes fight. The life of a rooster that had grown for two years ends in a pitiful condition with injuries inflicted by sharp knives and bleeding. The poor creatures pay the penalty in one of the bloodiest and most cruel game that is fought in the Delta region for fun and in the name of culture.
The victorious cockfight lovers, punters, organisers and bigshots, who are behind the cruel game, enjoy the benefits of game. Sankranti festival brings joy to lakhs of Telugu people and spell pathetic end to hapless birds.