(Photos by Aaron Gekoski for Lady Freethinker & Karmagawa)
PETITION TARGET: President of Nepal; Nepali Tourism Board; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tens of thousands of defenseless goats and other animals were ritualistically hacked to death at the latest Gadhimai Festival in Nepal – as exposed by an investigation by Lady Freethinker and Karmagawa.
We documented approximately 5,000 – 8,000 buffalo butchered, in addition to the approximate tens of thousands of goats and other animals massacred. The festival, widely seen as the largest ritual slaughter of animals across the globe, took place over the course of two days and happens every five years.
The victims’ last moments were heartbreaking: A small goat’s legs continued moving after being butchered and tossed into a pile; A pigeon’s wings fluttered in a seemingly desperate attempt to fly away before being killed; Buffalo were dragged by ropes or cloth around their necks into the killing field – passing the corpses of other decapitated buffalo. Children were seen carrying animal bodies and witnessing the mass violence. Butchers raised their blades overhead to kill animals one at a time amidst a sea of commotion.
When the festival concluded, the ground was littered with entrails, decapitated animal heads, pools of red blood, bloody footprints, feces, and other animal body parts.
“I will never forget that smell or those sights,” photographer Aaron Gekoski said about the “field of gore” at the temple after the slaughter.
Before being killed, animals may have been forced to travel from as far away as India. The festival was crowded with up to a million people and “constant blaring noises,” according to the investigator. It’s difficult to imagine the terror and stress these innocent animals must have suffered before being killed.The bloodshed has sparked outrage. A priest denounced the violence, saying the sacrifice does not align with the values of Hinduism, according to the investigator. Humane alternatives to animal sacrifice exist – which may honor the cultural significance of the festival without causing any innocent being unnecessary suffering.
These feeling, gentle beings deserve so much better. We are calling on Nepal to officially end the cruelty by prohibiting the slaughter of animals at the next festival.
Sign our petition calling on Nepal to ban the gruesome animal killing and create humane alternatives for this event instead.
