The Asian Coalition for Farm Animals (ACFA) yesterday urged Master Temples (
The coalition, consisting of animal protection groups from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and the UK, told a press conference in Taipei that Master Temples should stop force-feeding pigs and entering them in "divine pig" contests.
Master Temples worship the Clearwater Master (
PHOTO: MEGGIE LU, TAIPEI TIMES
The contest is a tradition that rewards a gold medal to owners of the heaviest pig at annual Master Temple prayer ceremonies, Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) president Wu Hung (
The winning pig, or "divine pig," is then slaughtered in public "while fully conscious" and offered to the Master, Wu Hung said.
"To achieve the status of a `divine pig,' the pigs are force-fed for up to two years and confined in pigpens that are so small they can hardly turn to ensure minimum movement," Wu Hung said, adding that champion pigs weigh up to 600kg -- six times the normal body weight for pigs.
"We are by no means preaching against traditional religious ceremonies," said Amy Firth, campaign manager of the World Society for the Protection of Animals [UK]. "We are saying that there are better ways to show respect to the Master than sacrificing the well-being of a life."
Wu Hung said that of the 118 temples they talked to, only three have held the contest in recent years.
"Sansia's (
"We earnestly plead with them to end it," he said.
After the press conference a parade of ACFA volunteers boarded a bus to Sansia's Master Temple to offer them "an alternative way to respect God" -- a colorful, life-sized, smiling pig made of cardboard and decorated with flowers and candy, Wu Hung said.
They were met, however, by Sansia's police force and local government officials, who blocked the parade's entrance to the temple, saying they were in violation of the Assembly and Parade Law (
"The officials told us to respect local traditions and refused the cardboard pig," he said.
"However, we received some local cheers, and in the end we went into the temple to offer flowers and candy to the Master to pay our respects," he said.
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