India: Chickens being fed Viagra and Shilajit ahead of cockfight season
cockfight
Ahead of mega Sankranti celebrations in rural areas of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, breeders are feeding their chickens with Viagra and Shilajit (a natural organic-mineral product formed in mountains) besides other steroid-laced food. That explains how competitive the world of cockfighting in this part of the subcontinent is.
Cockfights are an integral, essential part of Sankranti celebrations in rural Andhra Pradesh where crores and crores of rupees are often at stake during festival betting.
As a part of the celebrations, trained roosters engage in intense ‘fights to the death’, while a cheering crowd bets on the winning side. This year, the festival will be celebrated from January 14 to 16.
However, this year, the outbreak of a disease called ‘Ranikhet’ has cast a shadow on the tradition of this rooster fight. The disease has left several trained roosters weakened and unfit for fight, leading their owners to resort to unconventional methods to shore them up.
An investigation by the Times of India found that several breeders were blatantly making the roosters consume aphrodisiacs meant only for humans, without even considering whether the practice actually boosted the fighting spirit of the chickens or not.
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“We spent a fortune on saving the fighting breed of birds from the disease. But what we found was that the birds are now lacking in strength. This is the short-cut to make the birds ready for Sankranti," a breeder was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
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However, experts have warned that the practice might lead to an enhanced performance for some time but it will cripple the birds in the long run. The consumption of aphrodisiacs might also lead to mutations in the birds, which could prove to be severely harmful when consumed by humans. While these unorthodox drugs are being introduced to the birds for the first time, their actual impact on enhancing fighting spirit in roosters remains unclear.
(With inputs from agencies)