WARNING: The images below may be disturbing because of their graphic nature.
Millions attended what’s thought to be the world’s largest mass animal sacrifice in Nepal last weekend despite an outburst of opposition from several animal charities and celebrities. Devotees sacrificed tens of thousands of animals to honor Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power.
More than 5,000 water buffalo were ritually sacrificed on Nov. 28, day one of the two-day festival, which happens every five years. This year’s toll was far lower than in 2009, when 200,000 animals and birds were sacrificed, due to the efforts of animal rights activists as well an Indian court order banning export of live cattle and buffalo from India to Nepal without a license.
“I promised the goddess that if I made good money in my business, I would sacrifice a goat for her,” Rajesh Shah told the Guardian while cooking an animal he had killed. “I’ve heard of the complaints about this festival, but I had already prayed for my business to improve, so I had to keep my promise to the goddess.”
“We object to the cruelty with which animals are treated,” Pramada Shah of Animal Welfare Network Nepal told CNN. “There is random hacking of animals in open space. Not all animals have their heads chopped off. Some take up to 40 minutes to die.”
Among the opposition is actress Joanna Lumley (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), who attended a rally last month at the embassy of Nepal in London. She told the Independent: “I love Nepal — both the land and its people. The Gadhimai animal sacrifice festival entails horrendous animal suffering and is a complete anomaly in this wonderful country.”
A butcher stands among sacrificed buffaloes inside during the sacrificial ceremony of the Gadhimai festival held in Bariyarpur, Nepal. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
But animal cruelty is not the only issue. Annie Gowen of The Washington Post pointed out the festival is also a public health concern:
“It’s madness, it’s really madness,” said N.G. Jayasimha, director of the Humane Society International of India, who is at the temple site this week. “There are no roads, no infrastructure, not a single public bus, no sanitation and no drinking water. There are human feces everywhere. A number of people have come, and everybody is carrying an animal to be sacrificed.”
The slaughter commenced on Friday, Niraj Gautam, an animal welfare activist from Bariyarpur, told CNN. “People seem to be in a merry mood and look like they have been waiting for this moment for ages … But it is a sad day for us.”
“We feel we have been defeated,” Shristi Singh Shrestha, an animal rights activist with Animal Welfare Network Nepal, told the Guardian. “However, the positive thing is that the number of animals killed has come down … We hope there will be no killing of any animal at the next festival.”
A devotee prays during the celebration of the Gadhimai Festival on Nov. 27, 2014, in Bariyarpur, Nepal. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
Butchers raise their swords while performing rituals before the sacrificial ceremony. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
Men hold their weapons before the massive slaughter of buffaloes. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
A butcher finishes off a buffalo on the ground with a second swing of his blade. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
WARNING: The images below may be disturbing because of their graphic nature.
Millions attended what’s thought to be the world’s largest mass animal sacrifice in Nepal last weekend despite an outburst of opposition from several animal charities and celebrities. Devotees sacrificed tens of thousands of animals to honor Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power.
More than 5,000 water buffalo were ritually sacrificed on Nov. 28, day one of the two-day festival, which happens every five years. This year’s toll was far lower than in 2009, when 200,000 animals and birds were sacrificed, due to the efforts of animal rights activists as well an Indian court order banning export of live cattle and buffalo from India to Nepal without a license.
More than 5,000 water buffalo were ritually sacrificed on Nov. 28, day one of the two-day festival, which happens every five years. This year’s toll was far lower than in 2009, when 200,000 animals and birds were sacrificed, due to the efforts of animal rights activists as well an Indian court order banning export of live cattle and buffalo from India to Nepal without a license.
“I promised the goddess that if I made good money in my business, I would sacrifice a goat for her,” Rajesh Shah told the Guardian while cooking an animal he had killed. “I’ve heard of the complaints about this festival, but I had already prayed for my business to improve, so I had to keep my promise to the goddess.”
“We object to the cruelty with which animals are treated,” Pramada Shah of Animal Welfare Network Nepal told CNN. “There is random hacking of animals in open space. Not all animals have their heads chopped off. Some take up to 40 minutes to die.”
Among the opposition is actress Joanna Lumley (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), who attended a rally last month at the embassy of Nepal in London. She told the Independent: “I love Nepal — both the land and its people. The Gadhimai animal sacrifice festival entails horrendous animal suffering and is a complete anomaly in this wonderful country.”
A butcher stands among sacrificed buffaloes inside during the sacrificial ceremony of the Gadhimai festival held in Bariyarpur, Nepal. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
But animal cruelty is not the only issue. Annie Gowen of The Washington Post pointed out the festival is also a public health concern:
“It’s madness, it’s really madness,” said N.G. Jayasimha, director of the Humane Society International of India, who is at the temple site this week. “There are no roads, no infrastructure, not a single public bus, no sanitation and no drinking water. There are human feces everywhere. A number of people have come, and everybody is carrying an animal to be sacrificed.”
The slaughter commenced on Friday, Niraj Gautam, an animal welfare activist from Bariyarpur, told CNN. “People seem to be in a merry mood and look like they have been waiting for this moment for ages … But it is a sad day for us.”
“We feel we have been defeated,” Shristi Singh Shrestha, an animal rights activist with Animal Welfare Network Nepal, told the Guardian. “However, the positive thing is that the number of animals killed has come down … We hope there will be no killing of any animal at the next festival.”
A devotee prays during the celebration of the Gadhimai Festival on Nov. 27, 2014, in Bariyarpur, Nepal. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
Butchers raise their swords while performing rituals before the sacrificial ceremony. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
Men hold their weapons before the massive slaughter of buffaloes. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
A butcher finishes off a buffalo on the ground with a second swing of his blade. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
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