In pictures: Hindu animal sacrifice festival in Nepal

28 November 2014

More than two million worshippers have travelled to Nepal for the mass slaughter of animals in honour of a Hindu goddess. Some readers may find these pictures upsetting.

A buffalo being carried in a rice sack at a Hindu festival in Nepal — Image caption,
Worshippers brought their own offerings, such as this buffalo being carried in a rice sack

A devotee at a Hindu festival in Nepal — Image caption,
Devotees believe the mass sacrifice pleases Gadhimai, the goddess of power

A herder watches over buffalo at a Hindu festival in Nepal — Image caption,
Organisers say the festival is a generations-old tradition, but animal rights campaigners say it is barbaric

Worshippers climb a tree in Nepal to get a better view of the sacrificing of animals at a Hindu festival — Image caption,
One of those attending said the atmosphere was "like a carnival"

A Hindu worshipper slaughters buffalo at the Gadhimai festival in Nepal — Image caption,
More than 5,000 buffalo were killed on Friday

A goat brought to a Hindu festival for sacrifice waits by a tractor — Image caption,
Goats, rats, chickens, pigs and pigeons were also brought to the festival for sacrifice

Sacrificial knives on sale at a Hindu festival — Image caption,
Vendors at the festival sold sacrificial knives

Buffalo slaughtered in a Hindu festival are strewn across the ground in Nepal — Image caption,
The bodies of the animals, filling the air with the smell of freshly slaughtered meat, will eventually be buried in a large pit

Hindu devotees brandish machetes at a festival in Nepal — Image caption,
It is not yet known how many animals will be slaughtered over the two days, but 300,000 died at the last festival in 2009