Hindu devotees defy outcry over mass animal slaughter in Nepal

Kathmandu (AFP) - Sword-wielding Hindu devotees will transform a remote corner of Nepal into the world's largest abattoir this weekend when they slaughter hundreds of thousands of animals in defiance of a growing chorus of protests.

Animal rights activists say the butchering of animals ranging from buffaloes to rats in the village of Bariyapur amounts to mass cruelty while local residents say the stench of death leaves them struggling to breathe.

But despite intervention from India's Supreme Court, which has ordered a ban on buffalo exports, big crowds are expected at the two-day Gadhimai Festival in southern Nepal, close to the border between the two countries.

The festival, which takes place every five years and begins Friday, sees hundreds of thousands of worshippers from both countries flock to Bariyapur's temple in the hope of appeasing the Hindu goddess of power.

An estimated 300,000 animals, including chickens, ducks, pigeons and pigs, had their heads chopped off or throats slit during the last festival in 2009, making it the world's biggest sacrifice of animals at any one site.

Link

The dark side of organised religion rears its ugly head once again. Can you believe that people "sacrifice" animals to deities still in the year 2014? What type of deity would be pleased with the beheading of animals?

I know some will say that killing animals for food is no better, but logically the two aren't comparable.

This is not a "omg they are killing hundreds of innocent animals" thread, this is a "people actually believe they are earning favour from their God for cutting the head off an animal?" thread.

originally posted by: Dark Ghost
this is a "people actually believe they are earning favour from their God for cutting the head off an animal?" thread.

Depends on who's the "god".

Who was the hindu god, anyway? Was it Kali?

(Posting a picture of her might prove to be a violation of some of ATS's T&C - that is how gory she is)

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Now if this was some meat festival with the smell of sizzling surloin this would be different.

Stench of Death?

You know when people throw a big BBQ i find it smells quite different from Death. But since cows are revered i doubt these people are eating them.

So overall it's just a pointless slaughter.

Of course when the civilized world has its meat festivals we don't publically state the numbers. Why? because we are eating them.

I guess the protestors have reason to raise these questions because slaughtering animals is not good enough if you don't intend to put them on a rotating stake.

The black mass of Hinduism. Give me that old time religion, Jainism, which treats even insects and microbes as neighbors. A middle-eastern fellow once said "Love thy neighbor as thyself", a statement which includes all life forms - something that people who participate in animal sacrifice (or animal eating for that matter) probably never consider let alone adhere to.

"What a beautiful and diverse culture!"

seriously though, can we just stop talking to them until they evolve a bit more and stop being stuck in 1400 B.C ?

a reply to: Aleister

This respect for other life-forms is not only present in your middle eastern fellow, it is also present in Native American spiritism and in many african tribes.

We are all stuck on the same planet - might as well get along.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

What century are we living in?

a reply to: WeRpeons
*they* not us.
We are not that bad, no matter how much we still have to learn.
the whole freakin place is like skull island...without the awesome stuff.

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

Nice choice of words, and let me take this chance to also say that you have both an awesome avatar and user name.

While on the one hand these articles are always framed with outrage at such barbarity, a look into factory farming and slaughter of animals in the west doesn't paint a rosy picture either.
Does it matter that the animals are dispatched to appease some imaginary "God" more than for market demand, or more usually, market manipulation and price fixing? In which case the animals are being killed to satisfy the demand of the God known as "money", which also seems to have a pretty barbaric following!

Is it barbaric and unnecessary, in this instance? Well of course most civilized westerners would say yes, without a doubt, then head off to the fast food joint or restaurant for their meaty fix, without thinking for a moment about the life that the bit of meat they are consuming lived, or how it was dispatched. Becuase, well, We are not that barbaric and are so much more evolved!

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Isn't this a scene out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

a reply to: Britguy

Ethically speaking, you have a point.

Logically speaking, it's like comparing apples and oranges.

originally posted by: Aleister
The black mass of Hinduism. Give me that old time religion, Jainism, which treats even insects and microbes as neighbors. A middle-eastern fellow once said "Love thy neighbor as thyself", a statement which includes all life forms - something that people who participate in animal sacrifice (or animal eating for that matter) probably never consider let alone adhere to.

A voice of sanity, thank you!

I doubt the animals feel much different about the various causes for their slaughter. This is all just a human gloss for who cares what reason.

Them's dead is the only relevant factor, and death is very normal.

Personally, i'd like to see people butt out of traditions in foreign countries ...especially traditions that are older than your own native culture and tickle the pointless-outrage-ometer.

Wake me up when they start killing kittens and pizza delivery guys.

originally posted by: Britguy
While on the one hand these articles are always framed with outrage at such barbarity, a look into factory farming and slaughter of animals in the west doesn't paint a rosy picture either.
Does it matter that the animals are dispatched to appease some imaginary "God" more than for market demand, or more usually, market manipulation and price fixing? In which case the animals are being killed to satisfy the demand of the God known as "money", which also seems to have a pretty barbaric following!

Is it barbaric and unnecessary, in this instance? Well of course most civilized westerners would say yes, without a doubt, then head off to the fast food joint or restaurant for their meaty fix, without thinking for a moment about the life that the bit of meat they are consuming lived, or how it was dispatched. Because, well, We are not that barbaric and are so much more evolved!

[/quote

We are all guilty, in my view, of species'ism. There is no excuse for it, especially if we hope to be accepted into some kind of Galactic Federation of diverse beings! And still no excuse, if we do not . . . no animals life is of less value to him-her than ours is to us.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

THANK you for posting this. Incredible that any sort of violent/barbarian behavior is still committed in the name of some imaginary guy.


I can't think of anything else to say - I am wordless!!! S/F

a reply to: kiro8lak

And still no excuse, if we do not . . . no animals life is of less value to him-her than ours is to us.

I could not agree with you more.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

Read the same story this morning. Below is a link to an article in the Daily Mail with a handful photos. I should probably warn about graphic images:

==> www.dailymail.co.uk...

Across the border in India cows are holy and can't even be touched or moved if one would decide to let's say take a nap in the middle of the street. In Nepal things are different, where they sacrifice 5000 bulls by chopping their heads off with curved sword-hacks.

If anything this shows how our terminology is faulty, what we call Hinduism is in fact a bunch of different religions refered to as one, Hinduism. Hindu simply means India or more precisely, the Indus Civilisation or the Indus Valley/River.

originally posted by: IShotMyLastMuse
"What a beautiful and diverse culture!"

seriously though, can we just stop talking to them until they evolve a bit more and stop being stuck in 1400 B.C ?

I guess the slaughter of millions of turkeys and pigs is all good for western nations to celebrate the birth of Christ every year is totally different.

a reply to: woodwardjnr

Oh please, how dumb can ATS get? For starters, we don't "mindlessly slaughter" pigs and cows for Christmas. We slaughter them for FOOD.

So the difference here is:

We slaughter for food to EAT contra slaughtering animals to appease god, leaving meat rotting.

On a more serious note: Let these people slaughter their animals. It's sad, but it's their right as a nation to follow their beliefs, even though I don't condone it or like it.