Cockfighting continues

feathers bristle, the tiny knives attached to the claws glint, the game cocks face each other for the final duel. the ululation of the crowd reaches a frenzy as the birds go in for the kill. the beaks strike menacingly, the claws pluck out feathers, the knives draw blood. suddenly it is over. the winner is picked up by its owner.the loser, full of fight a moment ago, is tossed away by its once-proud owner. a few stray feathers and fluff stir in the wind in a requiem that get drowned in the celebrations. a deep red stain is left in the pit as the sole evidence of the life and death struggle decided there a few minutes ago. this is all about cockfighting, a favourite sport for many in tribal dominated mayurbhanj district. in mayurbhanj , the origin of the sport is lost in the mists of time. earlier, other types of animal fighting were in vogue.prominent among them were bullfighting and sheep-fighting. these stopped long ago. but the humbler cocks still fight to satisfy the blood lust of man. historians say the maharajas of mayurbhanj used to patronise bird-fighting, and annual shows used to be organised within the precincts of the maharaja''s palace at baripada. the red-vented bulbul, known as the ''eastern song-thrush'', used to dominate the demonstrations during the annual show. the owners of the winning bulbul were rewarded by the maharaja. in fact, bird fighting was a favourite pastime of the mayurbhanj royal family. with the end of the royal regime, bird-fighting too came to an end. cockfights, however survived. at raghda, a tiny tribal village not far from baripada, one of the biggest cockfighting sport is organised every year on christmas. some enthusiastic non-tribal participants from neighbouring urban and semi-urban centres drive down to the raghda cockpit. this year nearly 1,000 fighter cocks were killed in the bouts and a lakh of rupees changed hands in gambling at the cockpit. despite the ban, cockfighting flourishes in public places in tribal orissa, and has gained the status of a popular rural sport. the poorly equipped units of the society for prevention of cruelty to animals have failed to create awareness among the people on the various provisions of the prevention of the cruelty to animals act, thus rendering it meaningless. cockfighting is almost a way of life in the district.the adivasis in this region may go without their daily meal, but not without their weekly quota of the battle of the birds. clad in traditional costumes with birds under their arms, they arrive in full force every market day. though poor, they never seem to be short of money to back one cock or the other. the question is - when are the authorities going to act? (http://pets.indiatimes.com)