In southern Nepal, the Gadhimai festival takes place every 5 years where thousands of water buffalo, roosters, and goats are sacrificed as part of the ritual sacrifice to the Hindu goddess of power. With about 80% of the population Hindu and some 5 million people from adjoining districts participating in the ritual, officials estimate that up to 10,000 buffalo calves and 150,000 goats will be offered to Gadhimai.
However, animal rights activists are protesting this ritual. "We object to the cruelty with which animals are treated. There is random hacking of animals in open space. Not all animals have their heads chopped off. Some take up to 40 minutes to die." The animals not only suffer while they are being killed: they are also transported over long distances on foot. "By the time they get to the festival venue they are half dead," says Shah. "They are kept two or three days without food after they are brought here."
Do you think Nepalese authorities have the right to restrict this ritual? And to what limit?
There definitely needs to be restrictions upon this ritual. I'm not saying the ritual itself needs to be terminated, but the way in which all animals are treated needs to be altered. There needs to be an assurance that all animals will die in as peaceful a way as possible. The mistreatment of animals can not be tolerated on the days leading up to the ritual. Animals should receive proper nutrition up to the hour in which they are to be killed. We can not allow animals to receive the current treatment they are receiving.
I don't think the ritual should be terminated. These people are not hurting other people. However, I do think that less animals should be used and that the animals should be treated way better before they are finally sacrificed. I also think that the animals should also be sacrificed in a more effective way so that it does not take up to forty minutes for them to die.
The government has no right to put an end to this ritual, although the acts and cruelty to the animals is very wrong. The ritual and celebrations should be altered to where if animals must be sacrificed or killed at all, it is done humanely and in less numbers. Killing hundreds of thousands of livestock and innocent animals is cruel and wrong in every way. This ceremony is inhumane and must be changed in some ways. These animals can not be allowed to be tortured like this any longer. mo matter what the ritual or sacrifice called for. this is wasting valuable resources and innocent animal lives.
I think is infinity disturbing how animals are treated all over the world, whether its for food, worship or sport. I think its morally incorrect and that's just mere opinion. I think its kind of insensitive if this (ARTICLE, not Amy) portrays this religious tradition as horrid and immoral, without including the statistics of animals slain all other the world for all purposes. I am strongly against animal cruelty and Mass unnecessarily slaughter for these beautiful creatures but im not sure how much significance a opinion has on the matter. I don't think it will end anytime soon.
This is a tough issue, as it has to deal with a religion that has a tradition spanning back many years. This is animal cruelty and extremely upsetting to me. However, unless this is endangering the animal population and drawing them near extinction, I don't think the government should be able to restrict this event. This festival allows people to express their beliefs, and while I personally don't agree with it, I feel like they should have the right to. However, I still feel horrible for the animals.
My dad spent two years in India, Pakistan, and Nepal working for a Missionary organization called Operation Mobilization or OM. I asked him to tell me more about this and Hinduism before I responded and here is what he told me:
Of course, they are very devoutly religious people. Animal sacrifice has always been a big part of Hinduism. In fact, Jainism was formed from splitting off from Hinduism because they didn't agree with animal sacrifice. They actually took it to another extreme. For a while, while we were in India we stayed just down the street from one of their [Jainism's] temples, and we would see the priests walking around with little brooms for sweeping the ground in front of them so that they wouldn't kill any insects as they walked. I'm pretty sure that the founders of Buddhism were also turned off by the animal sacrifice. Looking at that from our society it seems barbaric and cruel, and it is, but this is THEIR culture. Unfortunately they are also mostly an impoverished and uneducated people and putting a restriction or ban on the practice, the response would be desperate and violent. Yes, it is terrible but it is a part of their culture.
And the Nepalese secretary of the festival did say "If we tell the people to stop the sacrifices, they will come and kill us."
I think they have a right to practice this ritual. I mean we kill more animals than that everyday in the US and no one bats an eye. Plus if Nepal has the similar goat population density as it's neighbor india, there would be around 5,500,000 goats in the country. This ritual would only affect about 2.7 percent of the total goat population.
-- Edited by Drowse on Friday 5th of December 2014 06:57:17 PM
I think they do have the right because the animals should not suffer like that. Yet, they should find a reasonable agreement because it is their ritual.
I think its important to allow an important part of Hinduism to remain, let them sacrifice the animals but it is also important to limit the suffering the animals go through, let them die quickly. I don't know how you could possibly regulate a festival with the size and popularity as this one. But limiting the pain of the animals is important.
I think it is really sad to sacrifice so many animals and make them suffer, however, it is part of their religion and beliefs. I agree with the people saying there should be limits set, because that is a good compromise to allow them to continue their rituals but not kill off so many animals.
