India: 19 arrested over cockfighting

Sangareddy district police have dismantled a cockfighting operation and arrested 19 people.

India.- Police have carried out a raid at a farmhouse in Peddakanjerla village and arrested 19 people who were allegedly involved in illegal cockfighting. During the raid, police seized Rs 13 lakh and 26 bikes from the accused. According to local media reports, the suspected leader of the operation fled from the scene when the police arrived.

Police are investigating whether the owner of the farm had any links to the leader of the cockfighting opeartion.

Cockfighting has been illegal in India since the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960. Subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court of India in 2015 and the Hyderabad High Court in 2016 upheld the ban. However, cockfighting is still popular in Andhra Pradesh and other locations.

See also: Over 450 people arrested for illegal gambling in Surat