Published 27/11/2014

This Friday and Saturday mass slaughter will begin at the Gadhimai Festival in Southern Nepal. Compassion, with the assistance of tens of thousands of dedicated supporters, has been campaigning to put a stop to this terrible suffering.

At the last Gadhimai festival an estimated 250,000 animals including buffalo, goats, pigs and chickens were beheaded in just two days in an event that was supported and funded by the Nepalese Government. Compassion and a host of international animal welfare groups have been campaigning to stop the festival and have called on the Nepalese government to cease all funding of it.

International pressure

Initial reports suggest the government will not be funding the festival and thanks to the efforts of Indian animal welfare groups the Indian Government has put in place a ban on the transport of animals across the border into Nepal in the lead up to the festival. We’ve already heard many reports of arrests and confiscation of animals that were destined for this mass slaughter and we’re hopeful for a reduction this year in the number of animals involved as a result of the huge international outcry that has taken place over recent months.

Updates to follow

Our investigators will be in the field documenting the slaughter, and we will be releasing their accounts in the coming days.