Nepal took up the issue and banned the 300-year-old practice of animal sacrifice during the famous Gadhimai festival, held every five years.

Rituals involving animal cruelty have always been a matter of debate. Recently, protests from Hindu and Buddhist communities forced Sri Lanka to consider banning animal sacrifices at Hindu temples in the island nation. The age-long practice of sacrificing buffaloes, chickens and goats has offended animal rights activists all over the world. According to sources, the upcoming legislation will be applicable only to Hindus even though Muslims also engage in animal sacrifices.

In 2015, Nepal took up the issue and banned the 300-year-old practice of animal sacrifice during the famous Gadhimai festival, held every five years.

About 50,000 animals were sacrificed during the festival in 2009.However, Tamil Nadu witnessed widespread protests following the ban on Jallikkattu, a bull-taming sport played as part of the Pongal harvest festival. During the competition, a bull is released into a crowd as the participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape. Following injuries and death (of both the participants and the animals) in connection with the sport, animal rights organisations had been trying to legally ban it.

Public protests, though, forced the government to bring in a new ordinance in 2017 to continue the sport, exempting it from the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960).

Salvation in saving lives

Viren Sharma, animal lover

No culture, religion or civilisation can progress by assassinating animals. Which religion says that sacrificing animals is the key to salvation? As rightly stated by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.’

I wonder how people do such killings in the name of culture and religion. We humans have destroyed the mother nature by killing other living beings only to satiate our own taste buds! God, culture or heritage has nothing to do with it.

I am totally against sacrificing animals in the name of rituals and it is high time India stop following these barbaric old rituals and start treating the animals lovingly.

Faith and sacrificial lambs

Gayathri, animal lover

Recently, I saw a goat being sacrificed in a temple in Bengaluru. Soon I contacted some of the animal welfare groups to see what can be done about this. Firstly, they wanted photo/video proof of the act. Even if there are enough proofs, the chances of finding a solution are rare. Animal sacrifices are done in many prominent and less popular shrines, though we are not aware of that. It’s hard to do something as the sacrifices are conducted with the support of officials.  People never realise that animal sacrifice in name of rituals is wrong. If we protest, people will think we are talking against the temple. Ban on animal sacrifice at Gadhimai festival in Nepal is a welcome move and we should learn from that. We should learn to respect and love animals.

illogical and senseless rituals

Ankur Jha, animal lover

It is a very sad state of affairs. We live in a society where there are cultures which support cruelty to animals. Animal sacrifices are practised by those who follow illogical rituals which make no sense. It is high time people started changing their cultures and traditions towards being more human. A little bit of rationality will only do us good.

Animals are also god’s creations

Lopa Saikia, animal lover

A sacrifice to please someone cannot be meaningful if we sacrifice what belongs to that someone. Animals, too, are creations of God and killing them to please the same God contradicts the meaning of sacrifice. Our scriptures always use the words preferable and avoidable while telling us about the various deeds of our lives. Animal sacrifice should be stopped as it is nothing but blind faith. No one progresses by sacrificing an innocent soul. Having said that, our society is driven by religious practices and it might take a long time to stop this practice.

It’s tricky, but need answers

Melanie Joe,Animal Lover

I am passionate about animal rights, which made me turn vegan a few years ago. I’m aga- inst the use of animals as commodities for food, entertainment and fashion. If you look at the nutrition aspect, it’s possible to survive — no, thrive — on a plant-based diet. Having said that, I understand this is a topic that requires quite a bit of nuance, and a willingness to listen on both sides. The exploitation and sacrifice of animals under the guise of culture and tradition hold no place in the modern world. I know it’s a tricky conversation to have, especially with those who’re so deeply entrenched in what they describe as their culture — but it’s a conversation that needs to be had, because we cannot move forward as a society until we stop the assumption that we’re the most important life forms on this planet.

Akin to walking on EGG shells

Shruthi Prakash, animal lover

Intervening in religious practices is like walking on egg shells. On the one hand, you wish to put a stop to practices that are unjust and propagate violence, but on the other, you wish to be sensitive towards religious and cultural sentiments. There are millions of MNCs that are exploiting animals for their own agendas, and that is considered rather normal, even today. Stating the obvious, there are also thousands of non-vegetarians, who are killing animals for personal consumption. Its hypocritical to categorise slaughter of animals into degrees of right and wrong based on the end purpose. We can comfortably conclude then that, veganism is the only practice that looks at this from an unbiased spectacle. Slaughter of animals for religious purposes needs to be further debated and weighed against the other acts of violence.