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Animal Rights Activists Call to Stop Mass Animal Sacrifice in Nepal
Bomjam's supporters have organised their own campaign to put a stop to the festival, distributing pamphlets in the area and in Indian towns on the border urging people not to take part.
One reason for the event's huge popularity is its proximity to India, where some states have now banned sacrificial slaughter.
"In India today there is greater awareness about animal sacrifice and suffering, so people and rights activists are against it," said N.G. Jayasimha, campaign manager for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in India.
"Some states have banned animal slaughter even for religious purposes -- including Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. So all these factors contribute to the numbers going to Nepal."
But animal rights campaigners face an uphill struggle in Nepal, where Hindus make up 80 percent of the population and where ritual sacrifice is a part of everyday life.
Local authorities said they would increase security surrounding the festival, which begins with the sacrifice of two wild rats, a rooster, a pig, a goat and a lamb before the temple's statue of Gadhimai.
Devotees can then bring their animals into the temple for ritual purification before taking them into the grounds where they will have their throats slit. The meat is distributed and eaten.
Nepal's government has already pledged 4.5 million rupees (60,000 dollars) in funding for the festival and authorities say they have no power to stop it going ahead.
The temple's head priest, Mangal Chaudhary Tharu, told AFP 800,000 people attended the festival in 2004, when about 400,000 sacrifices were made, and he said he expected more people to come this year.
"Nepal's security situation has improved and we are expecting a larger turnout this year," said Tharu, the fourth generation of his family to serve as a priest for the festival, whose origins have never been documented.
"We are not forcing devotees to sacrifice animals. It is an age-old practice and it must continue.
"The festival will lose its charm and become meaningless if we break with tradition."
Source-AFP
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