At the Gadhimai Festival in Southern Nepal, an exclusive footage, filmed on 8th Dec by Animal Equality, was showcased highlighting the menace of animal slaughter.
The exclusive footage showcased the massacre of thousands of buffaloes.
At the Gadhimai festival, over 90% of the visitors were from bordering Indian states. Animal Equality’s team also documented animals brutally slaughtered with machetes and knives; animals stuffed in trucks; starving animals without enough food or water; and devotees cutting the ears of goats and buffaloes and leaving it to bleed.
Amidst international demands calling for an end to the massacre, the killing of thousands of animals will continue over the next few days.
The Gadhimai temple committee has not only decided to continue with the sacrifice, but they have also banned any filming or photographing of the animal killings during the festival.
Amruta Ubale, Executive Director of Animal Equality India says, “We witnessed weak, exhausted and reluctant calves forced to walk several kilometers with little or no water and food were pushed by bare hands and forced to enter the enclosure. Many buffaloes were trying to escape from the enclosure.”
“The animals are killed by devotees, who have no experience or right instruments due to which the animals die a slow and most painful death. The buffaloes were subjected to watch other buffaloes being killed before their very eyes. Soon, the petrified buffaloes horrified by the massacre huddled together in corners to escape the sight of the executioners in a desperate attempt to live. They were pulled by their tails one by one each of them were brutally slaughtered,” Ubale said.
As the carnage was underway inside the ground, goats, rams, pigeons, ducks, roosters were being sacrificed by thousands of devotees in the acres of land including farms surrounding the fair. This all is in violation of the order of the Supreme Court of Nepal which states that cruel, barbarous and unkind treatment towards animals should not be allowed.
Animal Equality distributed leaflets among devotees who had brought animals for sacrifice and explained that the original tradition had nothing to do with animal sacrifice. We hung awareness banners. In an effort to discourage animal sacrifice and in keeping with the original tradition, the organisation conducted a meaningful practice of blood donation, Animal Equality collaborated with Red Cross Society of Nepal to organise a blood donation camp, where devotees give their own blood to appease the deity.
Ubale says, “This in turn will remove the negativity of barbaric killing from the festival and will bring in positivity by helping needy humans. We urge the Government of Nepal and the Gadhimai temple committee to support the camp and encourage devotees to donate blood instead of animal sacrifice.”
Animal Equality has been working to put a stop to the Gadhimai festival, which happens every 5 years. Thanks to the organization’s efforts, there has been a consistent reduction in the number of large animals killed during the event. In 2019, the number of large animals was 3203 and in 2024 was 1500.
In 2014 the organisation also met with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs and requested them to stop the movement of animals across the border during the days of the festival, following which an order was issued directing the Sashastra Seema Bal to stop transport of animals at the border.