The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) authorities in Karimnagar on Friday cancelled the auction of a rooster found abandoned on a bus and handed it over to an animal protection group.
The rooster, which appears to be specially trained one for cockfight, was found abandoned on a bus three days ago when officials of state-owned TSRTC were carrying out a routine check. It was found concealed in a bag on January 9 during a routine check of the bus at Karimnagar.
The bus was heading to Vemulawada via Karimnagar.
No passenger came forward to claim it apparently to evade penalty as travelling with an alive animal on TSRTC buses is not permitted. The TSRTC officials seized the rooster and shifted it to TSRTC bus depot-2 in Karimnagar.
Since then, the staff had been taking care of it by providing food and water.
In an unusual move, the officials had decided to auction the rooster on Friday at 3 p.m.
However, a man, who claimed to be the owner of the rooster, appealed to TSRTC Managing Director V. C. Sajjanar on social media to stop the auction.
Identifying himself as Mahesh, a native of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, he stated that he forgot the rooster on the bus.
He claimed that he had also purchased a ticket for the rooster. Meanwhile, the TSRTC authorities cancelled the auction after taking legal opinion and handed over the rooster to Blue Cross Society, a NGO which works for animal protection.
The bird will be shifted to the office of Blue Cross in Hyderabad. TSRTC officials believe that the rooster was being transported to Andhra Pradesh for cockfights during Sankranti.
Cockfights are rampant in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during Sankranti.
Despite the ban and warnings by police, cockfights are organised on a large-scale during Sankranti every year.
Crores change hands as revellers bet big on the cockfight, which was banned in 2018 on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Two roosters, often fitted with a razor-sharp curved blades on their spurs, are forced to fight each other to death.
Animal rights groups have been urging the authorities to strictly enforce the ban to save birds from cruelty.