Vietnam: Village agrees to tone down pig slaughter event

Thousands of locals and visitors gather to witness the annual slaughter, but they will see less in future

A village in Vietnam has agreed to make changes to a traditional pig slaughtering festival described as "barbaric" by animal rights campaigners.

The annual event in Nem Thuong, in the northern province of Bac Ninh, involves pigs being carted around the village in a procession before being slaughtered with a sword in front of spectators. While the festival will still take place, the pigs will now be killed in a "discreet" area away from the crowds, Thanh Nien News reports.

People will also no longer engage in the practice of daubing banknotes in the pigs' blood, which is thought to bring good luck. Provincial officials say the changes to the centuries-old festival were made in recognition of social developments, the report adds.

The move follows months of campaigning by the Animals Asia organisation, which wants Vietnam's government to ban the festival altogether, describing it as a "display of barbaric animal cruelty". In January, the country's culture ministry voiced its disapproval at the tradition, with a spokesman telling the Tuoi Tre newspaper: "Living in this civilised world, we should support cultural and civilised activities and limit uncultured and uncivilised acts."

The festival is said to commemorate a 13th Century general who slaughtered wild boar to feed his army while taking refuge in the area, and is now considered a deity in the village.

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