'Holy pig' festival draws thousands in Taiwan
2015-02-24 19:26
New Taipei City - Thousands of worshippers
flocked Tuesday to a controversial "holy pig"
festival in Taiwan which sees the carcases of
giant overfed swine on display, a custom deplored
by animal rights campaigners.
The annual ritual, slammed by activists as
inhumane, marks the birthday of the Taoist god
Zushi and is held in a square outside the temple
in his name in the northern district of Sanhsia.
Local owners compete to display the largest pig,
with the winner taking home a trophy.
To a fanfare of traditional music played on gongs
and horns, five pigs -- which had been killed the
night before -- were wheeled into the square
Tuesday with the heaviest weighing 714
kilograms (1,572 pounds).
Their decorated bodies, with the bristles shaved
into patterns, were displayed upside-down in
brightly decorated vans, tiny heads dwarfed by
their bloated torsos.
"The pigs are presented to show our gratitude
and respect to the god Zushi," Huang Chun-chi,
who works at the temple, told AFP as visitors
burned incense and took photos.
After the festival the carcases are taken home by
their owners and the meat distributed to their
friends, families and neighbours.
Animal rights activists say pigs are kept in small
enclosures and hit on the snout to force them to
keep eating.
"We strongly oppose 'holy pig' contests," Chu
Tseng-hung, head of the Environment and Animal
Society of Taiwan, told AFP.
"Farmers have adopted inhumane methods to
force-feed pigs to increase their weight."
Zushi has a strong following in the north of
Taiwan and the centuries-old tradition is
vehemently defended by organisers and
worshippers.
The ritual is held by 20 other Taoist temples on
the island on different occasions.
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"The tradition has been misinterpreted by some
animal rights groups," said Lee Kai-jui, a
neighbourhood chief in Sanhsia who was also the
first-prize winner of this year's contest.
"Our pig was raised in a normal way... I never
overfed it," he added, saying that it was the
particular breed which made the pig so large and
he was proud of the animal.
"Holding this kind of ritual helps bring people
together," he said.
But while thousands still attend, activist Chu said
support was waning due to a growing awareness
of animal rights and a lack of interest from
younger generations, as well as scepticism over
the festival contestants.
"In the past, many of the pig owners raised them
on their own to show their respect and sincerity
to the gods. Now many of them just buy pigs
straight from farmers. This has made many
people feel a lack of sincerity," he said
Worshipper Chang Yung-hua, 46, said the scale of
the Sanhsia festival had diminished.
"I remember more than 10 holy pigs were on
display some time ago. The biggest one even
went up to a record high of more than 1,000
kilograms. Now the number has dropped. I hope it
will not disappear some day."