Gadhimai festival: Buffaloes, goats, pigeons killed in Nepal mass sacrifice that activists say needs to end
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Nepal's Gadhimai Festival Sparks Clash Over Animal Sacrifice
Above: People bring a goat to the sacrificial ceremony of the Gadhimai festival near a temple in Bariyapur, Bara, Nepal, on Dec. 3, 2019. Image copyright: Sunil Sharma/Contributor/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
The Facts
Thousands of people in Nepal on Sunday held their Gadhimai festival, which occurs every five years in Bariyarpur. It involves mass animal sacrifice to honor the Hindu goddess Gadhimai in exchange for prosperity and protection.
This year's festival saw an estimated 200K animals sacrificed, including buffaloes, goats, pigeons, and rats, though some activists estimated the number to be upwards of 500K.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The Gadhimai festival must be banned to end the needless suffering of thousands of animals. Each event sees countless buffalo, goats, and birds subjected to days of transport without food or water before being slaughtered with blunt tools in frenzied rituals. Though rooted in tradition, this cruelty is unjustifiable. Compassionate alternatives like offering flowers have been embraced by many and should replace this outdated practice.
Establishment-critical narrative
While something like sacrificing hundreds of thousands of animals may be condemned on a universal level, Gadhimai has beautiful aspects as well, such as prayer. It should also be noted that non-Western countries have long been coerced into abandoning their cultures due to economic threats from powerful Western nations. Protecting animals is one thing, but Western watchdog groups have no business supervising every aspect of other societies.
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