Case Study On Cock Fight In India

Sevaku Harish, Mahindra University School of Law

ABSTRACT

Cock fighting is a traditional sport which is held every year during the month of January on Sankranti in the state of Andhra Pradesh, cock fighting is generally about two cocks fifth against each other in a ring called the cockpit, they are tied with knives in their legs to attack the opposite cock, the two cocks which participate in this game is popularly known as gamecocks. The game is over only when one cocks kills the other. this game includes a huge amount of flow of money unofficially, this game is also known to be an unofficial super bowl of India. In India there is more importance given to this in southern states, especially in Andhra Pradesh, it is said that this tradition has been continued from the Indus Valley civilization, but the current generation still carries on the same tradition saying that it symbolises their rich culture and tradition. But on the other side people are protesting against it by saying it results in the killing of innocent birds. It has also created an environment where diseases can spread widely because many birds are raised together in a small space. It further has posed problems in societal issues because many poor people for easy money participate in these games and lose all their money and that cause immense poverty it just cats as an extra pile which already is been existing.

In this paper, the author would study and introduce this topic in depth in both traditional as well as through the lens of the people protesting against it, as well as through the legal aspects as it was said to be illegal by the supreme court in the year 2015, and by the high court of Andhra Pradesh in 2016, but later provided relaxation by saying it can be continued by without tying the birds with knives, still it does not seem to have brought the change. And also discuss another important facet of how these events are harmful to the animals and the humans conducting them with the help of some case laws and incidents. It would also include the lens of environmental as well as trough societal lens which helps in understanding this issue from grass roots level.