RSP lawmaker Tamang urges government to stop animal cruelty during Dashain

Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Ashika Tamang has demanded that the government stop the cruel treatment of animals carried out in the name of sacrifice during Dashain.

Speaking at a House of Representatives meeting on Friday, she said that Dashain, a festival of celebration for people, becomes a "dasha," or ordeal, for innocent animals.

Noting that only about 10 days remain until Dashain, she remarked that more attention goes to slaughtering goats, billy goats and buffaloes than to the worship of Durga.

According to MP Tamang, practices such as chasing animals along field ridges, stabbing them with swords in crowds, and beating them on the back with sticks occur openly in public. She said thousands to hundreds of thousands of animals are publicly sacrificed every Dashain, adding that she herself grew up watching such scenes.

Citing examples of countries abroad with legal provisions to punish cruelty to animals, she questioned why Nepal's animal welfare laws remain weak and are not effectively enforced. She said the policy of taking only produce and services from animals while neglecting their protection and welfare needs to be reviewed.

MP Tamang drew attention to the need for the government to act seriously to control cruelty by making animal welfare laws effective, and urged that inhumane scenes in public places be stopped.