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More than 1 million people have descended upon a remote temple in southern Nepal in recent days, where thousands of animals are set to slaughtered starting Friday as part of a ritual sacrifice to honour the Hindu goddess held every five years.

In 2009, the last time the festival was held, sword-wielding men killed an estimated 250,000 buffalo, sheep, goats and chickens in a frenzied, two-day period as thousands looked on.

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Animal activists have decried the event, which attracts thousands of devotees from Nepal as well as close-by regions of India. Gadhimai is the Hindu goddess of power, and it is believed sacrificing an animal in her honour will bring prosperity. Many of the animals — most of which are babies — are brought illegally over the border from India.

Last month, India’s Supreme Court ordered the government to ensure that no live cattle or buffalo were exported out of India and into Nepal without license, and its Ministry of Home Affairs directed its border patrol to ensure that “the movement of cattle for sacrifice during Gadhimai Mela [Fair] be stopped.”