KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Animal rights activists have launched a campaign to stop or at least reduce animal sacrifice during Nepal's largest annual festival.
In the Himalayan country, the 15-day Dasain festival that began this week is celebrated by flying kites, feasts and family visits to temples, where thousands of goats, buffaloes, chickens and ducks are ritually sacrificed.
Animal rights campaigners are hoping to stop or at least reduce the killing as they gear up to combat an even bigger festival scheduled for next year in southern Nepal.
The tradition of offering blood to the gods in temples is deep-rooted in Hindu-majority Nepal.
The campaigners have been protesting, picketing temples and talking to devotees in hopes of persuading the people to stop the bloodshed.
