The northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh will make some changes to the Nem Thuong Pig Slaughter Festival after criticism of its brutality, officials said in a dispatch sent to a cultural management agency.

In the document wired to the agency under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Bac Ninh will continue organizing the festival with traditional ceremonies, with the exception of the open slaughter of pigs.

This part of the festival, heavily criticized for its brutality, will take place in a quieter place instead of in front of thousands of people as in previous years.

In addition, spectators will no longer be allowed to daub sheets of money with swine blood like before.

Trinh Thi Thuy, representative of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the ministry completely supports the change, in order to “keep the local custom without affecting the community’s psychology.”

In February, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed changing the name and limiting the number of people witnessing the slaughtering ritual of the festival.

The proposal was sent to the provincial People’s Committee after Hong Kong-based animal protection NGO Animals Asia called on people to sign a petition urging relevant Vietnamese agencies to end the Nem Thuong Pig Slaughter Festival because of its open brutality.

The festival, which attracts thousands of locals and visitors, including children, is held annually on the sixth day of the first month of the lunar year in Nem Thuong Village, Khac Niem Commune, Tien Du District.

As part of the tradition, pigs are carried around the village and then slaughtered in front of the spectators as a sacrifice to God.

People then daub sheets of money with the pig’s blood in the hope of getting luck for the new year.

A pig is carried on a cart at the festival. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to Animals Asia, the festival is offensive and has a negative effect on witnesses as well as the Southeast Asian country’s tourism image.

Hacking apart healthy, live pigs is a cruel act, and can cause damage to onlookers, especially children who have an incomplete and vulnerable psychology, the organization stressed.

The NGO also cited research showing that witnesses of cruelty toward animals tend to treat people cruelly in the community.

A villager feeds a pig with water before the animal is ritually slaughtered. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A pig is carried on a cart at the festival. Photo: By courtesy of Animals Asia

A pig is carried around the crowd at the festival. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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