France/Nepal - animal rights

Bardot plea for an end to animal slaughter in Nepal

Article published on the 2009-11-20 Latest update 2009-11-20 09:26 TU

Around 500,000 animals are to be slaughtered at this year's Gadhimai Fair
(Photo: medindia.net)

The legendary French movie star turned animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot has written to Nepal's president urging him to stop a mass animal sacrifice from going ahead next week. She has also appealed to the government of Catalonia to back a campaign to ban bullfighting in the north-eastern Spanish region.

Bardot, who quit the film world in 1973 and subsequently set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals has urged President Ram Baran Yadav to outlaw the sacrificial killings at the altar of Hindu goddess of power, Gadhimai, in Bara district.

In her letter, the 75-year-old Bardot called the practice "violent, cruel and inhumane".

This year, the temple authorities say 500,000 buffaloes, goats, chickens and pigeons will be sacrificed at the Gadhimai fair which is held every five years.

"I personally find it hard to imagine that your heart can withstand such cruelty, knowing that you, being the head of the country, are ultimately responsible," said Bardot in her letter to the president.

"I have dedicated my life to protect animals and the best gift I could receive for this life-long struggle would be the announcement of the stopping of ritual sacrifice of animals."

Bardot said she wrote to the prime minister last year and never received an answer.

The authorities are again turning a deaf ear to Bardot’s pleas.

There has been no response from the president’s office while organisers say the mass sacrifice, which attracts Hindu devotees from across Nepal and from neighbouring India, is a centuries-old religious tradition that should be allowed to continue.

Last month, renowned Indian animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi  also urged the prime minister to stop the axing of thousands of birds and animals in the cruellest conditions imaginable. But the government said it would not ban the festival for fear of hurting Hindu religious sentiments.

Brigitte Bardot
(Photo: DR)

Bardot has also been trying to convince the Catalan government to back a campaign to ban bullfighting.

The Popular Legislative Initiative, which has gathered 180,000 signatures, calls for a change in Catalonia's animal protection law, which bans killing or mistreating animals in shows except in the case of bullfights.

It is to be examined by the regional parliament in Barcelona in mid-December and, if it passes, Catalonia would become the first region of Spain to outlaw bullfighting.

In a letter to the Catalan government, Bardot said it was "strange and paradoxical that the (Catalonian) Socialist Party (PSC) opposes direct democracy."

Bullfighting is "an incredibly sadistic spectacle" and the PSC's position is "an insult to the formidable popular campaign which has been observed in Catalonia," she said in the letter.

Last week, Bardot also wrote to the European Union urging them to institute a Vegetarian Day as a part of the battle against global warming.

"A few weeks before the Copenhagen climate summit, I would like to draw your attention to the need to question cattle-farming, whose effects on the environment are of concern," she wrote.

"If 'developed' nations were to reduce their meat consumption, there would be less famine, which kills almost six million children each year.

"Our collective duty is to act at all levels, including by promoting a vegetarian diet. A European 'Vegetarian Day' would be a strong symbol."