The Asil or Aseel is an Indian
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
or group of breeds of
game chicken. It is distributed in much of India, particularly in the
states of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
,
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...
and
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
; it has been exported to several other countries. Similar fowl are found throughout much of Southeast Asia.
It is one of the parent breeds of the
Indian Game
The Indian Game is a British breed of game chicken, now reared either for meat or show. It originated in the early nineteenth century in the counties of Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. It is a heavy, muscular bird with an unusually ...
, developed in the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouc ...
of England in the early nineteenth century.
History
The Asil originated in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
, the area that includes modern India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
; it is thought to be among the oldest breeds of
fighting cock
A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
. The word "Asil" is from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, and means "
purebred
Purebreds are " cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...
". In India, it is a general term for all fighting breeds.
In India the Asil is distributed particularly in the
Khammam
Khammam formally (Khammam Mettu) is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam Tehsil, mandal also. It is located about ...
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, in the
Bastar and
Dantiwara districts of
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...
, and in the
Koraput
Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district.
History
The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of ...
and
Malkanagiri districts of
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
. It is also present in Bangladesh and Pakistan, which were part of India until
Partition, and is found in other countries including Australia, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay.
An Asil
bantam was created in the late nineteenth century by the British breeder William Flamank Entwisle; it became popular in Britain and in Holland, but later died out. In the 1980s it was re-created in Belgium by Willy Coppens, using
Shamo,
Indian Game
The Indian Game is a British breed of game chicken, now reared either for meat or show. It originated in the early nineteenth century in the counties of Cornwall and Devon in south-west England. It is a heavy, muscular bird with an unusually ...
and Reza Asil; it is bred in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Hungary and the United Kingdom, in a variety of
colours
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
.
In 2005 the Asil was the only Indian breed of chicken not in need of conservation. In 2007 its global
conservation status
The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...
was listed by the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
as "not at risk". In 2021 its status was reported to
DAD-IS
DAD-IS is the acronym of the worldwide Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, within the FAO's management of animal genetic resources programme.Domestic Animal Diversity Infor ...
as "unknown"; the
Livestock Conservancy
The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...
in the United States listed it as "threatened".
Characteristics
There are many varieties of Asil. Among them are the Amroha, Bhaingam, Kilimooku, Kulang, Lasani, Madras, Mianwali, Reza and Sindhi types.
Use
Asil hens are not good layers, but
sit well. They may lay about 70 eggs per year; the eggs vary from cream-coloured to brownish, and weigh approximately .
References
Further reading
* Esther J.J. Verhoef-Verhallen, Aad Rijs (2003). ''The complete encyclopedia of chickens''. Lisse: Rebo International,
Asil chicken in Pakistan
In Pakistan, cockfighting is a well-liked sport, but the Prevention of Gambling Act of 1977 makes betting on it unlawful. However, police frequently ignore it. People in Sindh prefer to keep the trained breed known as Sindhi Aseel for this purpose, while Mianwali Aseel is another well-liked breed that has been trained for combat.
Sindh, the top supplier of fighter Asil birds and the primary location for cockfights, considers it illegal to arm the birds with either metal spurs (referred to as gaffs) or knives. Some competitions permit it in Hower Punjab, which ranks third in cockfighting after KPK.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asil (Chicken)
Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy
Chicken breeds originating in India
Chicken breeds originating in Pakistan
Animal breeds originating in Sindh