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Page 1 of 3  ‘I am in total shock after watching the killing of the buffaloes. I have no words to describe the scene. Thousands of buffaloes were standing in an enclosure when butchers holding swords started hacking randomly at the animals. No one was holding the buffaloes – many tried to escape. Baby buffaloes were bleating and searching for their mothers. Soon they were walking around in a pool of blood. They were hunted down by the men. Needless to say, not a single animal survived the blood bath. In fact, some animals had already died before the sacrifice from the transport and the lack of food and water. They were left in the same spot with the living ones. It was a scene I will never be able to forget. Now I just want to go home and wait for the courage to continue our campaign.’ Krishna Singh, Programme Manager Animal Nepal:
 ‘I visited Gadhimai before the killing started and what I saw made me very sad. There was a baby goat that died from a lack of food and water. It just lied there – no one seem to notice it. The baby buffaloes came up to me,and wanted to be petted. They were scared and needed some comfort.’ Bibi Funyal, photographer:
  ‘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, Director Animal Nepal, international campaigner:
 ‘Nowthat I observed the festival I am convinced that these killings are among the worst forms of animal cruelty in the world. I pray that when the images come out the international community will agree that we have to stop this. To kill thousands of buffaloes without any humanity, by starving them for 2/3 days, by not tethering them, by carrying out the beheading publicly by butchers in a frenzy, and by mixing the dead with the living, is something unimaginable and totally unnecessary. I have a sense of failure and feel we have let these beautiful, loyal creatures down entirely. I appeal to all concerned citizens to do whatever is in their ability to stop the killings at Gadhimai.’ Pramada Shah, President of Animal Welfare Network Nepal:
 ‘After being at Gadhimai I now have an even stronger determination to continue the campaign as long as it takes for them to stop. No other country would allow such a massacre. I feel the government should have taken a stronger stand or at least appealed to the people to worship in a non violent manner. They used the lame excuse that this is an ancient culture that should run its course. I don’t blame the innocent devotees but rather the organizers and the educated who do not seem to care. We intend to work in coordination with the Indian groups to raise awareness among the visitors, of whom 60-80 percent are Indian. We also want to work with the local communities with the hope that the next Gadhimai will be a different one.’ -- Lucia de Vries Freelance Journalist Nepal - Netherlands
Photo Below : A butcher chases an injured buffalo which survived his first attack during a mass sacrifice ceremony at Gadhimai temple in Bariyapur, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals, a festival that has drawn the ire of animal-welfare protesters. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)    
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