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Hindu devotees plan for mass animal sacrifice in Nepal invites mass criticism | Plans by Hindu devotees to sacrifice over 500,000 animals during a two-day festival in Nepal this month has angered animal rights activists, who are demanding that
the 300-year-old ritual to be banned. Every five years the tiny village of Bariyapur
near Nepal's southern border with India is swamped with blood as hundreds of thousands
of Hindu devotees flock to the local temple to take part in what is thought to
be the world's biggest ritual slaughter. This year, according to The Times, it
is expected that about 500,000 animals, including about 25,000 buffaloes, will
be offered to Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess. Proceedings will begin with the sacrifice
of two wild rats, a cockerel, a pig, a goat and a lamb. Supporters of the Gadhimai
Fair say there is no question of them departing from a centuries-old tradition.
Devotees can then bring their animals into the temple for ritual purification
before taking them into the grounds where the beasts' throats are slit. "The festival
will lose its charm and become meaningless if we break with tradition," Mangal
Chaudhary Tharu, the temple's head priest, was quoted, as saying. An international
group of activists that includes veteran French and Hollywood actress Brigitte
Bardot and a 17-year-old Nepalese boy whose followers believe he is the reincarnation
of Lord Buddha, is spearheading the campaign against the holding of the ritual.
"The campaign is producing results. Three villagers have already handed over three
buffaloes to us which were intended for sacrifice at the fair, saying they have
had a change of heart," a spokesman said. The Kathmandu Post has also suggested
that some devotees were having second thoughts. Opponents of the ritual say that
it will harm the reputation of Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. Pramada
Shah, of Animal Welfare Network Nepal, said: "By perpetuating such a mass massacre
in the name of religion, culture and tradition in the 21st century, we are projecting
Nepal as barbaric." Govinda Tandon, of the Stop Animal Sacrifices Alliance, said:
"There are rivers of blood for months with carcasses lying everywhere. The grounds
are dominated by vultures, while the stench makes life miserable for people living
nearby. The only people who benefit are the skin traders who bid for the pelts."
Most observers think it is unlikely that the Nepalese Government, which has pledged
about 60,000 dollars for the festival, will intercede. |
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