Calls to end annual pig slaughter festival

The slaughter of two live pigs is being celebrated at a festival in Vietnam, despite calls by the government and animal rights groups to stop the public killing. Villagers celebrate the two day festival by tying up the animals and chopping them up in front of hundreds of spectators. It's a ceremony that dates back hundreds of years, and is part of the traditions of Bac Ninh province. Hundreds of people from around the country come to join in the two-day festival, which is held as part of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year - known as Tet. People in the north of the country consider pig blood as sacred, and regard it as a symbol of prosperity, and a good harvest. Two villagers are designated with pig fattening duties ahead of the festival. The pig is transported through the village, as people play musical instruments and dress up in traditional costumes. It is a great honour, says Tran Van Tinh from Nem Thuong. "The village appoints the two pigs' raisers and butchers at the beginning of the year. They have to be 49 and 47 years old respectively, and have happy families. It's an honour to have this task." Children and adults gather to watch the bloodletting festival - enjoying the spectacle. But now the Hong Kong-based animal rights group, Animals Asia Foundation is calling for the event to be banned. Tuan Bendixsen from the Animals Asia Foundation says the pig is under a great deal of stress after being paraded through the village. "We have great concerns about, first of all, the children's exposure to this very barbaric act; and secondly the welfare of the animal itself. The pig's been tied down and been paraded around the village with hundreds of people around it. Obviously it's under a lot of stress. Then after that it's been slaughtered with a big knife." The foundation is also concerned about the impact on young children watching the bloodletting. "We feel that, if young children witnessing the, what I would call, the barbaric act of slaughtering, you take a big knife and chop the pig in half and blood spreads everywhere.. So if young children see this, then first of all it will affect the way they look at cruelty and will affect the way they think. And maybe even in the long term, they may become used to this kind of cruelty and they themselves may see that killing an animal is like nothing, something which is very normal - but it's not� We feel that, young children or anyone shouldn't have to witness this kind of slaughtering." Animals Asia says the campaigning will continue next year. "Hopefully for next year, we are going to generate more debates in society, and perhaps talk more to the Vietnamese government. We've heard from the Ministry of Culture and Information they want the Bac Ninh province to stop it. They feel it's gonna affect tourism and the image of Vietnam." But for the spectators, this is their chance to soak their money in pig's blood, and receive what they believe is good luck in the lunar new year. Villager, Tran Van Tinh says he stands by his village traditions: "I'm proud to be part of the long time traditional festival in my village." And after the bloodletting, the pork is shared with everyone in the village in a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a2cbd219d22d2c4500e952681fc25895 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork