THE world’s goriest mass killing of animals has just taken place in Nepal to honour the Hindu Goddess of Power, Durga.

Thousands of animals, according to this report , died in a horrible manner during Friday and Saturday as the Nepalese celebrated the festival of Dashain, amidst protests from animal rights activists.The animals are herded from remote districts and neighbouring India into Nepal’s cities, where goats are dragged home behind shoppers and commuters.Yesterday was the main day of the sacrifices. At just one temple in the heart of the capital 54 buffaloes and 54 billy-goats were beheaded.The Nepal Army was also scheduled to make their own offering of 108 buffalo calves to the goddess.The goddess’ favour is believed to protect against accidental or violent death, and in the same spirit, some sacrifices are dedicated to individual vehicles or weapons.

But in recent years, the more than 1,000-year-old custom has offended the modern sensibilities of animal rights organisations, who have spoken out in public against the state-subsidised sacrifices.

Over a million animals were sacrificed last year in Nepal, according to Animal Welfare Network Nepal, which has launched the Stop Animal Sacrifice Campaign.

In a letter to the Government, the group said:

Nepal is the world’s key implementer of animal sacrifice, a practice that promotes superstition and violence, drains the poor and prevents Nepal from becoming a truly advanced country. Decapitating a bleating buffalo or goat should not be the symbol of the Nepali civilisation. The animal rights campaigners have also targeted the five-yearly festival of Gadhimai in the plains district of Bara.

Last year 16,000 water buffaloes were slaughtered at the festival, where people make sacrifices of any animal they can afford, including rats, pigs, chicken, goats or pigeons.

Despite the campaigns, there appears to be little shift away from the practice by the public.

Filmmaker Aman Adhikari said:

People share a very tight attachment with their culture and religion, which makes it very difficult to discourage animal sacrifices during festivals.

His film In God’s Pond shows how inhabitants of Khokna, 10 kilometres south of Kathmandu, drown baby goats in the local pond to protect their own newborn children from a similar fate.

There are some young people who would like to break away from the tradition. But they can’t get away because it’s something they have grown up with and the local belief is very strong.

Attempts by the government to withdraw support for the rituals have not been popular. In 2008, a proposed cut of the budget for sacrifice animals met with strong protests from local communities.

Bibi Funyal, photographer who covered the festival last year, is quoted here as saying:

I was assigned to film the festival. At first I seemed okay but when the killing started I suddenly found my knees shaking. In the beginning the butchers were able to cut the heads of the buffaloes in one stroke. Later they seemed to get into a frenzy and did not kill properly. I would take them a long time to severe the heads. The buffaloes were mooing – it was a terrible sound. The babies were searching for their mothers, not understanding what was going. At some point a baby buffalo came up to me and it touched my tripod. That was when I felt I would be passing out if I continued filming. When I left the place I had to step over thousands of bodies and heads and wade through animal blood. It was something I will never do again, even if they offer me an award.

Lucia de Vries, an international animal rights campaigner added: