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Petitions and Letters

Collecting signatures and presenting signed letters to government agencies and officials is an effective way to promote change no matter what the cause, and this is especially true in Nepal, where raising one's voice maybe the only way to be heard. So please contribute by participating in the following petition campaigns.

If you would like to become a volunteer, please visit our Volunteer Corner.

Stop Animal Sacrifice In Nepal

Please join the fight against animal slaughter in Nepal, and sign this online petition. This petition will be repeatedly presented to government officials and official agencies both in Nepal until the practice of killing animals in the name of God stops. For more information on the campaign, please visit the official website.

Stop Monkey Business Campaign

Please join over 2,500 others and sign this online petition. This petition will be repeatedly presented to government officials and official agencies both in Nepal and America until the practice of exporting Rhesus Monkeys from Nepal to America stops. For more information on the campaign, please visit the official website. Site temporarily OFFLINE- Please Check Back Later!

Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare

Please join over 988,650 others and sign this online petition. This petition is for an agreement among people and nations to recognize that animals are sentient beings and can suffer, to respect their welfare needs, and to end animal cruelty - for good.

 

Save the Kiln Donkey Campaign

This new campaign aims to help the working donkeys of Nepal, as they are in really bad shape, but working very hard to bring you bricks for your home and business. Please sign the online petition to give them your vote of confidence and best wishes.

Gadimai Festival (November)

Can you picture 7,000 young buffaloes being rounded up and killed by a thousand drunk men carrying large knives? A festival where 200,000 animals are killed to please a goddess? This is exactly what will happen in November 2009 (if nothing is done). The Gadimai Festival in Bariyarpur, Bara District, is held every 5 years.

The mass sacrifice turns the entire area into a marshy land of blood. We want to end this bloody, cruel practice, and if you do too, then sign this petition on Go Petition.

This petition is addressed to the Ministers of Tourism, Agriculture, Peace and Law and Justice in Kathmandu Nepal.

UPDATE: A number of religious groups in Nepal are opposing this mass sacrifice. Palden Dorje or Buddha Boy, a young religious leader, plans to bless the devotees ahead of the event with the aim to stop animal sacrifice. For those who can stomach a documentary on the sacrifice itself, go to Flixya (part 1 & part 2).  

For more information about Nepal's cruel festivals, check out this page.

Kokhana Festival (August)

Please consider joining our letter-writing campaign against this one:

Draft letter to Nepalese Authorities

Dear Sirs,

I would like to express our my deep concern about extreme cases of animal cruelty being conducted within the Republic of Nepal.

One such is on the occasion of the Khokana Festival, held after Gaijatra (August), during which a terrified goat is thrown in the Deu-pond close to the Rudrayani temple, after which it is torn apart whilst still alive by a group of young men, fighting for the dubious and cowardly honor of becoming a 'hero'.

Another is the Gadimai Festival in Bara District which is 'celebrated' by sacrificing around 200,000 animals (including 6,000 young male buffaloes). Here innocent creatures are killed en masse in a very unorganized manner by drunk devotees who enter the temple area with knives to cut off the heads of frightened buffaloes.

A third similarly touching event is the Sasarimaiko Mela in Mahottari which is held every twelve years and witnesses the killing of 10,000 animals. Both Terai festivals have been ‘transferred’ from India, possibly during the 11th century, and therefore are not indigenous celebrations of Nepalese culture.

A fourth event we want to highlight is the annual sacrifice taking place during Chaite and Kalratri Dasain. With the support of your government and army hundreds of innocent animals are beheaded in public.

No one can adequately explain why these practices are carried out year after year and why the Government financially supports some of them – except to say they are ‘traditional’. This however is not a valuable argument to commence these practices; Nepal, realizing the adverse effects, has abolished a number of ‘traditions’ in the past, including human sacrifice and widow burning. 

We feel the time has come to abolish the above practices for the following reasons:

1.      Nepal is concerned about the welfare of its precious flora and fauna, and has signed a number of international Wildlife Treaties followed by the introduction of the Meat Act, which introduces humane killing of livestock and poultry. The cruelty displayed in these so-called traditions completely contradicts the spirit and gestures of these treaties and acts.

2.      As tourists are abhorred by such practices, the festivals will have an adverse effect on tourism, an industry which provides the country with much-needed financial returns. Those foreigners who experience or come to know the extent of sacrifice in this country leave Nepal confused and with a heavy heart, rather than uplifted by its paradoxical beauty and friendliness.

3.      Cruelty against animals harms society as a whole; it signals and normalizes insensitivity in children who can become numb to the suffering of living beings, it is also known to influence certain people to commit violence on other humans.

4.      Sacrifices often strengthen the vested interest of those who benefit from superstition-based beliefs and rituals. As Nepal is moving ahead to become a more fully democratic, egalitarian society, it is crucial to challenge age-old beliefs which are not beneficial and drain the resources of the poor and needy.

We urge you to end the violent practices and help Nepal move towards a truly peaceful country, and in keeping with its international image. This can be done by introducing and enforcing a much-needed Animal Welfare Act to curb animal cruelty and by promoting genuine animal welfare activities across the country.

We trust that you will support these measures (which are becoming more popular by the day, around the globe and thus promote non-violent cultural practices in the Republic.

Sincerely,

Your Name & Address

 

If in Nepal, please send the letter to the following address:

Hon. Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu, Nepal
Telegrams: Prime Minister, Kathmandu, Nepal
Faxes: + 977 1 227 286 or 428 570
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

If outside Nepal, see this site for an address to the embassy nearest you: www.embassyworld.com/embassy/nepal.htm

For more information about Nepal's cruel festivals, check out this page.

Variations on a Theme

You can use the above letter template to address any concern you have over animal welfare in Nepal by simply changing the text and putting into words your own concerns about:

• The stray animal situation in Nepal
• Your concern over Rabies
• Your concerns about the proper handling of animals destined for slaughter (transportation issues)
• Animal abuse or lack or ordinances concerning pets.

Speak up and let your voice be heard!