End Gadhimai: The World’s Largest Animal Sacrifice
By Jennifer HartmannTarget: Government of Nepal
Goal: End mass sacrifice of animals at Nepalese temple
Every five years, the Gadhimai Jatra festival takes place in Nepal where half a million animals are brutally slain in honor of the Hindu goddess of power. Because all 500,000 animals must be slaughtered in the first two days of the festival, the participant butchers spend 48 hours massacring thousands of water buffalo, pigs, goats, chickens, and even pigeons and mice.
By the end, their disease-filled slaughterhouses are strewn with the blood and headless bodies of thousands of animals that, prior to their painful deaths, scrambled to escape the massive blades that decapitated them. The next ritual is scheduled to take place in 2014, but with help from the government of Nepal, it is possible to stop this mass slaughter before it is allowed to begin again.
While animals are killed for slaughter every day in countries around the world, this particular tradition is uniquely appalling due to the inhumane methods employed by participants of the ritual in such short periods of time. In one event, the throats of sacrifice animals are slit with knives, leaving them to die a slow, agonizing death while priests sprinkle their blood over religious idols and symbols.
In another, more than 20,000 water buffalo are penned in a yard where men wielding swords attack them until they are all maimed to death. While many animal sacrifices end quickly, these animals are hacked at the neck and legs multiple times before they even fall to ground. The largest animals are mutilated over two dozen times by machete before they are given the mercy to die.
Maneka Gandhi, an Indian politician and activist, is outspoken in her disapproval of the tradition. She has explained that many villagers refuse to end the slaughter for fear that they will dishonor the goddess of power, called Gadhimai. In addition, Gandhi explained that the festival is an incredibly profitable enterprise for priests, moneylenders, and animal sellers, who have incentive only to continue the inhumane practice out of greed.
Sadly, this despicable crime is allowed to continue in order to honor the tradition and religion of the Hindu people, even though profitable business remains the driving force behind it. Despite the fact that many Nepali residents are opposed to the violence of the Gadhimai festival, there has yet to be governmental interference to end this mass carnage once and for all. Urge the government of Nepal to illegalize the world’s largest mass sacrifice of animals.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Government of Nepal,
Every five years, the world’s largest animal sacrifice takes place in Bariyarpur, Nepal during the Gadhimai festival. This tradition, aimed at honoring the goddess of power, is a mass exploitation and torture of thousands of animals for the sake of tradition.
The slaughter, which takes place in the name of religion, is offensive to many Nepali residents, and many others understand that the event occurs primarily because it remains a profitable enterprise for animal sellers who earn revenue from skin, meat, and bones. This is no reason to allow for such extreme animal cruelty.
As it remains, unlimited profits could not account for the brutality of this mass slaughter, where innocent and terrified creatures are penned together to be hacked to death. Animal sacrifice is a cruel and primitive practice that has no place in civilized society today. Please ban this ritual in Nepal and end the world’s largest, and arguably most despicable, act of animal sacrifice.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Gadhimai.blogspot
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52 Comments
I am not signing not helping in any way the people, the people of the region until they stop the senseless and cruel sacrifices of animals. `if they want to honor their ‘gods” they should slit their own throats.
Gianna Macias Please do sign this it is to stop the slaughter and sacrifice of these poor defenseless creatures in the name of religion. I do agree with you that is why I signed. I do not believe in sacrifice’s to any God.
really disturbing & shocking ….still in disbelief !!!!
Isso dói muito só de ver. Porque tanta crueldade ? Não sejam covardes de colocar a vida de um animal indefeso no meio de suas religiões ! Tudo aquilo que fazemos de mal, voltará pra si mesmo.
ISSO dói Muito só de ver. Porque tanta crueldade? Não sejam covardes de colocar uma Vida de hum animais indefeso não MEIO DE SUAS Religiões! Tudo Aquilo Que fazemos mal de, voltará pra si MESMO.
São Paulo – Brasil
Save animals …
ISSO dói Muito só de ver. Porque tanta crueldade? Não sejam covardes de colocar uma Vida de hum animais indefeso não MEIO DE SUAS Religiões! Tudo Aquilo Que fazemos mal de, voltará pra si MESMO.
São Paulo – Brasil
que horror se são demônios estão estão em lugar errado tem que voltar para o inferno da onde não deveriam ter saídos!!!
QUANTA CRUELDADE…ISSO TEM QUE TER UM FIM…EM NOME DA VIDA!!!!
PARE DE MATAR OS ANIMAIS1
Por favor parem com isso, isso é absurdo deixar os animais sofrendo desse jeito isso é pecado isso é desumano !!
Precisamos acabar com a crueldade
Um absurdo e em pleno século 21, não dá nem para acreditar.
Rituais?, que loucura é essa?…são bárbaros da idade média?,que absurdo.
É preciso ter mais AMOR e respeito aos animais , no mundo todo!
Só confie!…. em quem amar e proteger a todos os seres sem distinção.
Parem de matar os animais, isso é crueldade pura!
Vamos acabar com essa pouca vergonha de oferecer
Realmente eu não sei como pessoas desse tipo conseguem dormir à noite!!
I have been petitioning this Cause over the last 5 years and still the Nepalese Govt does not do a damn thing to stop this cruel, inhuman & barbaric slaughter in the name of some God……Religious fanatics – stop your drunken massacre…..the world sees you as total losers…More to the point – get rid of some useless, vile & evil criminals instead of slaughtering gentle, sweet animals who have never done YOU any harm….Does your religion teach you to be SO cruel? Will your God be pleased to see you commit this hideous act? I think not!!! Think again and STOP the bloodshed!!!!!!
You may feel you are wasting your time Myrna, but eventually your voice along with others will be heard. Keep trying
Primitive and uncivilized.
É cultural, todos antigamente faziam sacrifícios !!! E vcs parariam de comer carne para deixar de matar o animais ? Ja viram como porcos e vacas são mortos no brasil e no mundo ? Nem por isso eu vou de deixar de comer carne !!!
There needs to be video footage of this event released. I have never heard of this before and alot of animal torture comes across my screen daily. This is the first I heard of this. News needs to spread. Videos need to be brought to main stream media.
it’s real. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0AasU2LiKM
don’t watch past minute 2 if you have a weak stomach.
Isso é lamentável e insano! Estou à 20 anos sem comer carne e nunca fez falta ao meu organismo..sinto-me cada vez mais bela e com muita disposição. Não aconselho ninguém a fazê-lo, pois tudo depende da nossa consciência, ela sempre é que determina à nossa saúde mental. Agora, nada justifica essa crueldade,com seres indefesos, nossos irmãos que vieram partilhar conosco a beleza de estarmos no planeta Terra.Vou continuar, acreditando numa Nova Era, em que uma nova consciência já surgiu e não precisaremos mais assinar essas petições, pois isso não mais existirá.
nessun Dio chiede crudeltà in suo onore! la cattiveria umana si nasconde dietro le religioni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bastardi!!!!
INCIVILI!
I agree with Vikki this needs to be made public knowledge I had not heard of this before.What is wrong with people that they can actually do this sort of thing
They are a disgusting excuse for a human being.
GADHIMAI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg7qdi11NkY
The total number of all animals killed to feed Americans for food in 2000 was 9.7 billion.
62 billion animals died to feed Americans in 2010.
These numbers are from USDA.
Where is the outrage? Clean up your own backyard first.
It is the way they are killed you idiot, and the reason they are killed. As you say in the US killed for FOOD humanely, in Nepal, killed for religious fanatics, in a barbaric way, inhumanely and really just for fun. Nice Religion
Dave,
Could you explain what about enslavement, deprivation of natural contact with their own species and murder, is “humane?”
Such “humanity” needs to be openly and forcefully questioned by all who seek some compassion in life.
I recognize your point, I hope you recognize the point of this petition
Uncivilized people. Horrible country !!!!
This is horrifying and a shame for your country!
I haven´t eaten meat for 20 years now and fell great!
Please end the horrifying reality in your country!
There is no humane slaughtering of animals in the U.S. to feed humans who require absolutely no meat in their diets, Dave Garton. Go check out how factory farms operate. This horrendous ritual needs to stop too. Humans are truly this world’s most damaging parasite.
Look I agree with you, and all animals killed for food is murder in my book to. I am glad that you agree with the petition and Humans are truly this world’s most damaging parasite.
Now words to describe this satanic sadistic act of depravity. SHAME ON THE HUMAN RACE!!!
Vaffanculo a tutte le religioni stronze e assurde!!!
persino il Papa per Pasqua è intervenuto a dire che il sacrificio degli animali non è di rispetto a nessuna religione, possibile che il vostro paese sia indietro anni luce per capire che è solo una crudeltà inconcepibile che non serve a nulla? Spero che la Dea che venerate così tanto possa ringraziarvi con altrettanto entusiasmo quando sarà la vostra ora….
This is savagery at its worst! A filthy bloodbath, perpetuated by cretins. Please STOP THIS!
Horrible
I am apalled at that this can actually go on!!! How horrible!!!
This is really disgusting! People is the most disgusting animal on this Earth! There is no reapect to the Earth! Fucking HUMANS!
There is NO HONOR in the slaughter of innocent animals.
Any “God” that would expect you to kill an innocent animal in the name of honor is a sick sick God to worship.
Simply discusting! This must be stopped NOW!
Sick and disgusting! If only we could change the slaughter to these wastes of space, air and embarrassments to the rest of us humans who are loving to animals. Karma never passes you by!!
Stop hiding behind the word “tradition”. What u r doing is cruel and useless.
didn’t Jesus die on the cross for us so there’s no longer sacrifices there’s no need to killing animals anymore when you can go straight to the God of yourself there is no longer reasons to do this it’s cruel .any pictures I’ve seen of Jesus he’s loving his animals not kiling them.
You are correct. Christ was to be the last sacrifice so by doing this to these animals they are disobeying God.
If religion is opiate of the masses…tradition is its evil twin. For lazt and ugnorant people allowing a twisted and powerful few to do their thinking. Sick
The TRADITION of RELIGION to honor God/Goddess and all the sacrifice of humans and animals to save them from the DEVIL and the fires of HELL! Has been nothing more than murder for century’s . Religion and the government will never ever change because they will never ever admit they could possibly be wrong. Because one is to superstitious and the other is to self righteous. Put the two together and it’s a very dangerous group!!!
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