2011-09-13 17:23
Colombo - A Sri Lankan court has ordered an
annual sacrifice ritual in which hundreds of goats are slaughtered to be
halted after a petition by animal rights activists, police said on
Tuesday.
About 700 goats and scores of chickens were to be sacrificed on Tuesday during a traditional religious ceremony at the Munnewaram temple, just north of the capital Colombo.
The grisly ritual, in which goats are decapitated in public using a large hatchet, was first banned in the 1980s but was revived as locals believe the animals' blood wards off evil spirits.
About 700 goats and scores of chickens were to be sacrificed on Tuesday during a traditional religious ceremony at the Munnewaram temple, just north of the capital Colombo.
The grisly ritual, in which goats are decapitated in public using a large hatchet, was first banned in the 1980s but was revived as locals believe the animals' blood wards off evil spirits.
