HC grants stay on cock fights slated to be held tomorrow

The Bombay High Court has granted an ad-interim stay on cock fights slated to be held in Ulhasnagar town of nearby Thane district tomorrow, saying it is ex-facie illegal and contrary to the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Justice Gautam Patel, on December 30, directed the Maharashtra government to ensure that no such cock fight takes place in Ulhasnagar as alleged in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

The court also restrained the organisers, Mahesh Tare and Prakash Tare, from going ahead with the event, although the duo made a statement that they had not planned the cock fights. The PIL had urged the High Court to put a stop to the practice of cock fights, since these birds either get injured or die during such events. 

The PIL, filed by N G Jayasimha, was mentioned by the petitioner before a vacation bench two days ago. The petitioner said he had come across a pamphlet in which it was mentioned that a cock fight would be organised on January 2, 2015 in Aashele village at Ganpat Nagar in Ulhasnagar town of nearby Thane district.
The petitioner, who is also a Director of the Humane Society International, India, an animal welfare organisation based in Hyderabad, said he had written letters to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state government seeking to stop cock fights proposed to be held in Ulhasnagar. Since Jayasimha did not get any response from the authorities, he moved the High Court and sought action against cock fight organisers, saying that such events violate provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
According to the petition, cock fights are events where two roosters are placed in a small fighting ring and are incited to fight each other. The roosters used to fight may be specially bred, trained to fight or given steroids in order to make them more aggressive in a fight. Usually, blades or small iron hooks, are attached to the feet of these roosters to increase the damage inflicted on the other bird participating in the fight, the PIL said.