The Largest Mass Animal Sacrifice in the World Is About to Begin – By Aristos Georgiou (Newsweek) / Nov 27 2019
At the beginning of next month, Nepal will host an event which features the largest mass animal sacrifice in the world.
The Gadhimai festival—which takes place every five years in the country’s Bara district—involves a whole month of celebrations, culminating in the ritual slaughter of tens of thousands of animals.
A host of creatures—ranging from buffalos, goats and chickens, to pigs, ducks, rats and pigeons—are decapitated with blunt metal swords during an alcohol-fueled bloodbath, according to non-profit Humane Society International (HSI.)
“The killing is brutal, there can be do doubt about that,” Wendy Higgins, an HSI spokesperson, told Newsweek. “The animals are decapitated using a large sword-like instrument. The animals are killed in front of each other which will add to their distress, and this includes mothers killed in front of their babies. Our HSI team has witnessed the killing first hand and reported that death for the buffalo at least is often not instant and requires several blows.”
The festival can trace its origins back to around 265 years ago when the founder of the Gadhimai Temple, Bhagwan Chowdhary, dreamt that the goddess Gadhimai wanted blood in return for freeing him from prison, protecting him from evil and bringing him prosperity.
Continue to article: https://www.newsweek.com/largest-mass-animal-sacrifice-world-1474200
