Nem Thuong Village’s traditional pig slaughtering festival in Bac Ninh Province, is still being held in private despite the huge public outcry.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh continues to warn festival managers that the pig slaughtering ceremony must not be held publicly in the front yard of the village temple. 

The festival has been a controversial topic in recent years.

In 2015, the Animals Asia Foundation kick-started a campaign to call on authorities of Bac Ninh Province to ban the pig slaughtering tradition during the Nem Thuong Festival. During the festival, the animals are decapitated in public and bystanders dip money into the blood in the supposed hope of good luck.

Despite the animal cruelty, the locals said they would keep their customs alive. However, due to negative feedback over the past two years, the butcher only cuts the throats of the pigs, rather than decapitate them and the ceremony is held in private.

The ceremony is held to commemorate General Ly Doan Thuong. According to the legend, the general and his troop were surrounded in the area. As they were facing hunger, they saw a boar running by and hunted it and were able to find strength to fight the enemy.

Dtinews