President of Vishwa Prani Kalyan Mandali and Basava Dharma Jnanapeetha Sri Dayanand Swami has urged the State government, particularly the Belagavi district administration, to take steps to prevent animal sacrifice during Vijayadashami at ‘Bhishtadevi Jatra Mahotsava’ on October 22.
Sri Dayanand Swami told presspersons here on Tuesday that despite a ban, thousands of sheep and goats were sacrificed during the ‘Mahotsava’ at Kakkeri village in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district.
He said that although an intensive campaign had brought down the number of animals sacrificed, lakhs of devotees from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa who participate in the fair had not discontinued the ritual. “After the district administration initiated steps to prevent sacrifices, the devotees had adapted clandestine methods to continue the ritual”, he said.
He said the High Court of Karnataka through its order (on writ petition 1330/2005) dated December 15, 2008, had directed the State government to take steps to prevent animal sacrifices under provisions of Karnataka Prevention of Animal Sacrifice Act, 1959 and Karnataka Prevention of Animal Sacrifices Rules, 1963. Consequently the State government had issued directions to the Deputy Commissioners of Police and Superintendents of Police in all the districts to necessary steps to prevent animal sacrifice, he said.
Awareness
To a query the Swami said that law alone was not sufficient to prevent animal sacrifice and that’s why the Mandali, in association with other organisations, was conducting awareness campaigns in different forms to dissuade people from sacrificing animals.
