animal sacrifice

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Sheriff: At Least 12 Arrested for Animal Sacrifice in Texas

'It appears that they were having some sort of unknown ritual'

(Newser) - Authorities in Texas have arrested at least a dozen people for animal cruelty after interrupting what they believe was ritual sacrifice, the AP reports. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Bexar County sheriff's deputies found dead and dismembered animals in a San Antonio-area home Friday night after receiving calls...

Temple Ends Centuries-Old Mass Slaughter of Animals

Hundreds of thousands were killed at festival every 5 years

(Newser) - The killing of Cecil the lion made this a depressing week for animal-rights supporters. Here's a counter-punch: A Hindu temple in Nepal has ended a centuries-old mass slaughter of animals that takes place every five years, reports the Wall Street Journal . Twice a decade for nearly 250 years, pilgrims...

World's Biggest Animal Slaughter Has Begun

In 2009, an estimated 300K animals were killed over 2 days

(Newser) - The world's biggest animal slaughter is once again under way. The Guardian and Al Jazeera report on the weeks-long festival, which takes place every five years in the Nepalese village of Bariyapur. The killing takes place over just two days, in this case, Friday and Saturday: Hindus armed with...

Dig Reveals Mass Sacrifice of Kids, Llamas

At least 42 children, 76 llamas killed in possible offering to the sea

(Newser) - Physical anthropologist John Verano has seen plenty while working in Peru over the last 30 years. What he came across this summer in the village of Huanchaquito, however, is "not what we've seen before, especially on the coast," he says. Locals noticed bones poking out of a...

Soccer Team: We Won't Stop Sacrificing Sheep

Kazakh squad catches flak for ritual

(Newser) - One of the strangest things ever uttered before a soccer match: "We are currently seeking assurance from Celtic Park that no sheep will be allowed on the premises ahead of the match." That's courtesy of the Scotland SPCA, worried that a visiting team from Kazakhstan will follow...

Kyrgyz Parliament Sacrifices Sheep to Expel Evil Spirits

Central Asian nation's three-party coalition has been squabbling

(Newser) - It may not be the way to bring that "Kumbaya" feeling back to Capitol Hill, but maybe it'll work in Kyrgyzstan? Members of the country's parliament, which the AP describes as "raucous," sacrificed seven sheep this morning in an attempt to expel evil spirits from...

Kenya Feeds Zebras to Hungry Lions

Carnivores in Amboseli National Park have been attacking local livestock

(Newser) - In a sort of zoological sacrifice, the Kenyan government is rounding up thousands of zebras and wildebeest to feed to starving lions and hyenas in the country's drought-ridden south. Some 80% of herbivores in Amboseli National Park were felled by the dry conditions, leading the hungry carnivores to attack neighboring...

Newfound Altar Predates Zeus Worship

Archaeologists uncover evidence of ancient pre-Greek diety

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Greece have unearthed the remains of an altar that predates Zeus worship, the New York Times reports. The evidence of animal sacrifices to an unknown deity thousands of years ago turned up during excavation of a temple to Zeus in Greece's Arcadia region. “We went from BC...

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