Humane World for Animals India Urges Citizens to Avoid Cockfighting During Makar Sankranti

January 12, 2026

Hyderabad: Animal protection organisation Humane World for Animals India on Monday urged citizens not to participate in cockfighting, an illegal and cruel practice that takes place during Makar Sankranti. In cockfights, two roosters, often fitted with razor blades on their spurs, are forced to fight to the death, with one or both birds often dying.

The practice still occurs in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Odisha, despite being punishable under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Sections 11(1)(m)(ii) and 11(1)(n) make it illegal to incite, organise, or provide a venue for animal fights.

Link to Gambling, Child Labour, and Other Crimes

Cockfighting events are often linked to illegal gambling, illicit liquor sales, and child labour. Mishi Aggarwal, cruelty response specialist at Humane World for Animals India, described the horror of such fights: “The birds are terrified, trembling as they are forced to face each other. Some are bleeding from previous fights, still they are forced to fight, completely bloodied and struggling for their lives. This isn’t entertainment — it’s deliberate cruelty.”

Shreya Paropkari, legal consultant at the organisation, added that cockfighting fuels organised cycles of violence and exploitation, leaving families in debt, normalising cruelty among children, and endangering animals for amusement and gambling.

Decade-Long Efforts to Stop Cockfighting

Humane World for Animals India has been working for over a decade to end cockfighting by collaborating with police and local communities to raise awareness about its cruelty and illegality. The Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2016 emphasised that cockfighting glorifies violence and desensitises people to the immense suffering of animals, reaffirming that such events are illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.