By UCA News reporter
NEPAL – A temple in southern Nepal went ahead with the world’s largest mass sacrificial slaughter of animals this week, despite an outcry from animal rights activists and a Supreme Court ruling seeking to end the practice, .
The activists called the sacrifices at Gadhimai temple in Bara district an “appalling bloodbath” as thousands of animals — buffaloes, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, and rats — were slaughtered to appease Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power, over two days, starting Dec 8.
Hundreds of thousands of devotees from Nepal and neighboring India attended the festival this year where an estimated 200,000 animals, including 6,000 buffaloes, were beheaded.
“I was appalled to see a ten-day-old calf being brought to sacrifice. This is the height of inhumanity I’ve witnessed so far,” said Sneha Shrestha, president of the Federation of Animal Welfare Nepal, who started the “Bloodless Gadhimai” campaign in 2014.
“The mass slaughter has become the main attraction of the festival rather than the divinity itself,” she said.
Even the authorities patronize it, Shrestha noted.
The Supreme Court of Nepal issued a ruling in 2016 calling on the temple authorities to phase out the practice.
“Animal sacrifice is a religious belief, and we cannot ask people to refrain from it,” said Chhabi Raman Bhattarai, assistant chief district administration officer of Bara district.
In fact, local bodies do not encourage bringing animals to be sacrificed, Bhattarai said.
The Gadhimai festival takes place every five years and in 2009 as many as 500,000 animals were sacrificed.
Even though animal sacrifice is unlikely to end soon, this year 1,500 calves were set free after their ears were cut instead of being beheaded.
“We hope this sends a positive message and encourages people to think of alternatives,” said Prem Prasad Sah, coordinator of the Gadhimai festival’s operation and development committee
Many animals brought by Indian devotees were confiscated this year, added Sah.
It is reported that nearly 90 percent of the animals are sourced from India for the ritual.
This year, more than 700 animals were confiscated through a joint drive by animal welfare organizations in India and Nepal in coordination with police.
“In the midst of a hopeless situation, we were able to save the lives of hundreds of animals this year,” noted Shrestha.
We will continue raising our voices to have a “Bloodless Gadhimai” festival, Shrestha added. – Vatican News
