KATHMANDU

Federation of Animal Welfare Nepal (FAWN) is vigorously running numerous campaigns with locals to minimize the world’s largest cultural sacrifice at Gadhimai festival. The festival is held every five years where thousands of animals — rat, chicken, goat, buffalo, and pig are slaughtered. Mainly buffaloes are slaughtered in an open field, which is very appalling.

Though the Supreme Court of Nepal had made a verdict to discourage the sacrifice of animals, thousands of animals have been assembled at temple premises for slaughter. This year the festival began on November 17 and sacrifice day is scheduled for December 3 and 4. Not just from Nepal, the equal number of animals are brought from open Nepal-India border; hence volunteers of FAWN are mobilized at Nepal - India border to check the illegal infiltration of live animals during the festival.

Under the initiation of FAWN, the temple committee has completely banned killing pigeons during the festival. Similarly, the temple committee has come up with the idea of donating the money instead of killing the animals. Temple committee has also come to a point of categorization of animals brought for the killings to avoid too young animals from being sacrificed.

A team led by Sneha Shrestha, president of FAWN is engaged in routine feeding of animals that are assembled at the temple premise. FAWN has provided free feed to them.

A press statement issued by FAWN has quoted; Sneha Shrestha saying that the Government of India has been fully cooperative by keeping strict vigilance over the inflow of animals via the Indo Nepal border. However, absence of a quarantine post from Nepal has compelled FAWN to mobilize a massive number of volunteers across the border.