The issue of animal sacrifice in Gadhimai mela is getting more attention as the mela date (Nov 22) is coming closer. First, animal right groups and the Buddha boy raised concern on half-a-million animals being killed in the mela. Now, others are following the quest to stop the inhuman act in the name of God.

The most popular comedians and leaders in social awareness, MaHa-duo (Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya), have come forward to back the protest. They were talking in a program organized by an animal rights group on November 13, in Patan, Lalitpur.

Hari Bamsha talked about a show in Chitawan National Park in which live buffaloes and goats were fed to wild tigers. The show was stopped when one of the tourists who saw the show wrote the government against it. The tourist asked the government to place the leaders in place of the goats and buffaloes for allowing a business to run a cruel show.

Madan Krishna also opposed animal sacrifice in the name of religion. He told that such a practice makes people cruel. He asked, “If somebody can kill an animal in the name of God why can’t he kill a person?”

It is to be noted that a TV serial produced by MaHa, Sajha Prithivi, is mainly focused on animal rights and is currently being aired in Nepal Television. The website animalnepal.org termed the MaHa-duo as Nepal’s ‘Laurel-Hardy’.