Taipei  - A Taiwan rooster has been spared the fate of being killed, cooked and eaten because of its good looks, the chicken's raisers said Monday.

In February, the Shifang School for Mentally Retarded in Taichung, central Taiwan, bought 20 chicks to raise, intending to sell them when they grew up to raise funds for the cash-strapped school, Wei Cheng-feng, executive director of the school, said.

"Recently we sold the chickens to the Mitsukoshi Department Store, but staff members at the department store thought that one rooster - Ta Mao (Big Feather) - was very good-looking and should not be killed, so they returned Ta Mao to us and pledged to donate 1,000 Taiwan dollars each month for raising Da Mao," he said.

Da Mao has long gray and white feathers and a red crown.

Raised on vegetables and the leftovers from the school kitchen, and allowed to roam around on campus, Da Mao is healthy and proud.

"We will never sell Ta Mao again, but will keep it as our pet," Wei said. (dpa)