Nepal: A festival in which men rip apart live goats

The Deopokhari festival is a 900-year-old horrific spectacle that is relived every August in a village in Nepal. Villagers in Khokana, rip apart a live goat with their bare hands and teeth, among other things, leaving animal rights activists frustrated, who want an end to this barbaric sport.

The cultural festival of the indigenous Newari people is observed in one of the oldest villages in the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal. As per the Daily Mail, the celebration starts with the hunting down of a young goat from the village.

The live goat is then taken to the sacred Deu pond, close to the Rudrayani temple, where villagers throw the goat inside the pond. Men then jump into the water and begin to slaughter the goat with their bare hands and teeth.

People in the pond continue to bite and pull the goat's lumps until it is torn apart. The festival then ends with a traditional dance, music and food.

Animal rights campaigners including Peta have joined hands with several Nepalese animal rights groups to stop the brutal festival. For many months now, there have been campaigns on Change.org and Facebook, among other platforms, to win support for a ban on the festival.

Nepal is also home to the Gadhimai festival in which more than 500,000 buffaloes, goats, chickens and other animals are sacrificed.