BE WARNED: PICTURES IN THIS POST ARE VERY GRAPHIC. PLEASE EXERCISE DISCRETION The Gadhimai festival is the world’s biggest animal sacrifice conducted at the Gadhimai temple area in central Madhesh of Nepal. Animals are sacrificed as part of the Hindu festival, with the hope that the sacrifice will lead to the fulfillment of wishes by the goddess. Some 5 million people visited Gadhimai during the festival. This centuries-old tradition is observed every five years. The ritual began at dawn with a ceremonial “pancha bali” or the sacrifice of five animals, comprising a rat, a goat, a rooster, a pig and a pigeon. Officials estimate that up to 10,000 buffalo calves and 150,000 goats were offered to Gadhimai — the goddess of power — during the ritual this year. But these numbers are much lower than those of 2009, the last time the five-yearly Gadhimai festival took place, thanks to advocacy efforts by animal rights activists. In that year nearly 20,000 buffalo calves were killed, according to temple officials and more than 200,000 goats were slaughtered. Male domestic Asian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)(locally called “PaaDa”) are the preferred species to offer to the goddess. Several other species including male goats (Khassi/Boka), chickens (Murga/Kukhura), Pigeons (Parewa), Ducks (Haans) and some rats (Moos), are also killed. This mass slaughter is simply barbaric in this day and age. The animals not only suffer while they are being killed: they are also transported over long distances on foot to the festival. The participants simply hack the animals in an enclosed […]
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