Animal sacrificial festival in Nepal: activists are calling for an end to tradition

Animal sacrificial festival in Nepal: activists are calling for an end to tradition

animal protection activists have asked the Nepalese government to end what they call “a cruel bloodbath”. They claim that thousands of animals were killed on the occasion of a festival taking place every five years that traditionally ends with a mass battle festival.

mass slaughter at the Gadhimai Festival

at least 4,200 buffalos and thousands of goats and pigeons were killed during mass slaughter as part of the Gadhimai festival in the village of Bariyarpur near the Nepalese-Indian border, reported Humane Society International India (HSI). The participants believe that the victims of animals in the gadhimai temple of the goddess Gadhimai will benefit from them, who will give them wishes or happiness. In addition, animals are sacrificed as part of the celebration of son birth.

legal situation in Nepal

In 2016, the Nepalese Supreme Court ordered the ritual of the animal sacrifice to gradually abolish, in which up to half a million animals were previously killed. However, activists report that not enough to actually end this practice. Shyam Prasad Yadav, the mayor of Gadhimai, told CNN that this was "not true" and that government representatives with the temple administrators would work to gradually end the internship. "That's why the victim was limited this year," he added.

resistance of the community

Although animal welfare groups have been fighting for a decade for the end of slaughter, they encounter resistance from parishioners who maintain a tradition that is more than 200 years old. The 20-year-old Upendra Kushwaha said that his family has been taking part in the festival for generations and will sacrifice a buffalo this year. "It only happens every five years, so we have to do it. It brings good and protects us," said Kushwaha. When asked about the attempt by animal welfare organizations to stop the practice, he replied: "This is part of our culture, it is our tradition, you will never be able to stop it."

conversation about cultural differences

Shisti Bhandari, managing director of the Jane Goodall Institute Nepal (Jgin), said she understands the perspective of the villagers. "Animals are sacrificed all year round in various religious rituals in Nepal, so they feel unfairly treated, why does only this custom get international attention?"

Arcaprava Bhar von HSI, who watched the victim scenes, said horrified: "They are on site who are baked in a number of battles, that's a massacre," he said.

police measures and progress

hsi India reported that police forces were also stationed around the temple this year. The mayor Yadav said that the police had to be used to control the crowd. In 2009, before the activists started their campaign, half a million animals were estimated. According to the latest figures, however, this number could have dropped - their efforts seem to bear fruit.

Volunteers worked with the communities to dissuade them from practice: children in schools sensitize, organize community meetings, carried out reconnaissance campaigns and spoke to the temple authorities. Bhandari found that this had led to a change in the settings. The temple offered people the opportunity to donate money instead of an animal, with specific amounts for every animal.

a long way to change

Bhandari said: "People, especially women, have started to react more positively to this idea, and this year the temple also provided an alternative." She added: "This is a big step, it took years and years of fighting to come here."

Before this year's festival mobilized animal welfare activists at the border to support Indian police forces to intercept the suspicious animals that should be transported to the temple. Her efforts have concentrated on the border since a judgment by the Indian Supreme Court from 2014, which ordered the Indian government to prevent the illegal import of animals. "We saved buffalo from the truck, goats that were smuggled on scooters in scarves, and chickens that dangled upside down," reported Bhar. "The suffering that these animals endure is unbearable and completely unnecessary."

challenges and outlook

In total, activists saved more than 750 animals, including 69 buffalo, 325 goats, 328 pigeons and two chickens who either find a new home or are released into the wilderness. "About 80 % of the animals come from India, which is why we work with the SSB (the Indian central police, which is responsible for the patrol on the India-Nepal border)," said Sneha Shrestha, President of the Federation of Animal Welfare of Nepal. However, the limit is permeable and not every trade can be stopped.

"We can only operate at the various checkpoints, but the villagers know each other well in these areas and take internal routes so that we cannot always stop them," said Bhar from HSI India. Since there is no general ban on slaughter in Nepal, activists are not much left than convincing people. "We can only talk to people and convince them, we have no authority to take the animals away from them," said Shrestha. "No animal should die on behalf of religion or tradition. Tempels are not slaughterhouses, and we must not make them."