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An Indian man has died after being slashed by a razor attached to a rooster during a cock fight, New Zealand Herald reported

According to the report, 55-year-old Saripalli Venkateswara Rao was at the animal death match in Pragadavaram village on Jan. 17 when one of the birds jerked free from a handler and slashed him in the stomach with the razor. Venkateswara Rao reportedly bled to death from the wound.

Cockfights were banned by the Indian Supreme Court as part of the 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act but the practice remains popular in some areas, especially as part of celebrations for Makar Sankranti, a Hindu festival day.

Fighters groom birds in the country, feeding them protein-rich diets and giving them steroids so they grow large and can cause more damage in the cock-fighting ring.

The birds have blades tied to their limbs before the fights, which continue until one bird is dead or critically injured.