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The unbelievable has happened! Maybe its compassion, maybe its the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and the law of karma.
But whatever may be the real cause, it's certainly worth a celebration that Nepal has decided to do away with its Gadhimai massacre, in which more than five lakh cattle are massacred as an offering to a bloodthirsty goddess.
It's really unfathomable how the Gadhimai Temple Trust, which organises the festival, has made a clean break with its traditional past, to say that its next edition, scheduled for 2019, will be "...a momentous celebration of life....and free from bloodshed."
Of course, the Temple Trust's decision follows rigorous negotiations and campaigning by Animal Welfare Network, Nepal and Humane Society International, India.
Nearly four million people participate in the 300-year-old festival, the majority of participants hailing from the neighbouring Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
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In a press statement, Gauri Maulekhi, a key activist campaigning to ban the slaughter, said “This is a tremendous victory for compassion that will save the lives of countless animals. HSI/India was heartbroken to witness the bloodshed at Gadhimai, and we've worked hard to help secure this ban on future sacrifice. "
She added that her organisation. the Humane Society International/India would spend the next few years, until the next Gadhimai "...educating devotees in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on the temple trusts’ decision not to sacrifice animals..."
The temple trust Chairman, Shri Ram Chandra Shah, said in a statement, "Our concern has been this: how do we convince the people, so desperate for the favour of Gadhimai, that there is another way? How do we bring them on our journey? Thankfully, the dedicated efforts of the Animal Welfare Network Nepal (and Humane Society International?) has shown us the path and provided the motivation to make this transformation a reality."
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