Rt. Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Right Honorable President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Office of the President, Republic of Nepal P.O. Box: 23312 Sheetal Niwas / Kathmandu, Nepal Singh Durbar fax: ++(977 1) 4416495 Kathmandu, Nepal email: [email protected] ph: 977 1 4211000, fax: +977 1 227 286 or 428 570 email: [email protected] Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Singha Durbar / Kathmandu, Nepal ph: 977 1 4211870, 4211879, 4211607 Honorable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign fax: 977 1 4211758 Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha Prakash email: [email protected], [email protected] Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maharajgunj Hon. State Minister Mr. Om Prakash Yadav Kathmandu, Nepal Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives ph: 977 1 4416011, 4416012, 4416013, 4416014, 4416015 Singha Durbar / Kathmandu, Nepal fax: 977 1 4416016 ph: 4211706, 4211950, 4211981 MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS EMAILS: fax: 977 1 4211935 or 4211839 Foreign Minister Secretariat: [email protected] email: [email protected] Foreign Secretary Office: [email protected] Administrative Section: [email protected] Nepali Congress Central Office All Divisions: [email protected] B.P. Smriti Bhawan, B.P.Nagar, Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal Europe America Division: [email protected], [email protected] fax: ++(977 1) 5555188 Protocol Division: [email protected], [email protected] email: [email protected]

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Honorable Officials of Nepal,

I am part of the global outcry against animal sacrifice in Nepal. Please permanently end blood festivals nationwide.

I urge you to begin with the upcoming Khokana Festival, during which revelers pitch a frightened young goat into a pond. Men wade into the pond to beat, bite and tear apart the 5 to 6 month old animal. A “hero” who ultimately kills the goat then leads participants in a celebratory dance. Prior to this violent spectacle, the animal is transported without food or water. She is intentionally killed in a slow, painful manner thought to gratify deities.

Like other blood rites in Nepal, the annual Khokana is outright cruelty posing as sacred tradition. Clergy leaders themselves have proposed fruits and vegetables in place of animal offerings. I call upon your mercy and integrity as fellow human beings: Please replace brutal animal sacrifice with non-living symbols such as cloth, flowers, fruit, banners, candles, flags…

Bloodless rituals do not alienate tourists or cut revenue from Nepal’s tourism industry. They stop a cycle of violence that desensitizes young participants to the suffering of others. Moreover, cruelty-free religion portrays Nepal as a modern nation in sync with the rest of the world.

Nepal has made great strides to protect wildlife under international treaties. An enforceable Animal Welfare Law that shields animals from all forms of abuse, including blood rituals, would further enhance Nepal’s image as a nation with moral fortitude.

I respectfully ask you to spare goats in the August Khokana Festival and ban all events that skin, burn, behead, knife, or otherwise torment live animals as religious sacrament.

Any tradition built upon the anguish of others contradicts the very essence of religion and is without merit or justification.

Thank you,