© Rachel H. Walker/flickr
	Ask Nepal to cancel the massacre! Act now, before the killing begins.

We urgently need your help to stop the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals next week during the Gadhimai Jatra festival in Bara, Nepal. Humane Society International is working with our local partners, Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT) and Animal Nepal, to prevent this reckless animal cruelty before the festival takes place November 24 & 25.

Every five years, hundreds of men are licensed to kill buffalo, pigs, chickens, rats, goats, and pigeons, receiving a fee for each animal they take. Cruelly, the animals are chased and hacked to death with knives in a competition to kill as many as possible within two days. According to Animal Welfare Network Nepal, the real beneficiaries are the festival organizers and business community, who drive up prices for animals in the lead up to the festival and then pressure local people to contribute livestock to the event.

Animal advocates are asking that the community provide fruits and vegetables instead of animals for the festival. KAT and Animal Nepal are organizing a counter-campaign of peaceful meditation, and together we are petitioning the government, which has reportedly paid for an enclosure to hold thousands of buffalo ahead of the event, to stop the slaughter. Please take action immediately by writing to Nepal's Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism to request a halt to this outdated tradition, considered barbaric by many local people who would like to stop it but feel helpless to do so.

Then, ask your friends and family to help, too. We need to let Nepalese leaders know that the world is watching and considers this bloody practice tragic and shameful.

Thank you for making a difference for animals.

Sincerely,

Andrew Rowan
President & CEO
Humane Society International

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