Disturbing rise in religious animal sacrifices in NYC

Animal sacrifices are on the rise in New York City, with pigs, rats and birds being found tortured to death as part of religious rituals.

Carcasses of several animals have been found in the area around Jamaica Bay and Howard Beach, which has since been nicknamed the “Sacrificial Coasts.”

At least nine injured or dead animals have been discovered in the past month, including five live pigs with partially cut ears, The New York Post defeated.

According to local animal shelter Zion’s Animal Rescue Mission, the recent sacrifices have been attributed to a “renegade Hindu sect and a Santeria that practices black magic.”

The group shared shocking images of a dog with a broken neck, a rooster with its head severed and a rat in a bag of chicken bones, among other things, as some of their gruesome discoveries.

The waterway has long been used by religious groups for prayers and offerings due to the large Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean population in the area.

Normally, offerings of flowers and fruit are made, but activists say animal sacrifices have been common for “decades.”

The right to animal sacrifice for religious reasons was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1993.

However, animal cruelty is still a crime in New York, punishable by up to two years in prison.

Rescue workers Sloane Quealy and Kim Fraser told how they recently came to the aid of three pigs found in crates on Howard Beach, near a number of wrapped prayer flags.

“We found a burnt out barrel with pieces of a rooster carcass and feathers around it,” Quealy explained.

‘We also saw a man leave that night with just a shovel. They dig deep holes to keep the birds in.

‘Rescue workers have been recovering both dead and live animals for years.’

The carcasses of several animals have been found in the areas around Jamaica Bay and Howard Beach, which has now been nicknamed the ‘Sacrificial Coasts’

The waterway has long been used by religious groups for prayers and offerings due to the large Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean population in the area

Now Quealy, Fraser and other animal rights activists are campaigning for more surveillance in the area to stop the “cruel” practice.

“We are tired and angry at the lack of empathy and care from people who don’t care,” Zion’s Animal Rescue Mission said in a statement.

“As a community, we must work together to end sacrifices on federal lands.”

Congresswoman Stacey Pheffer Amato joined them in calling for an end to the “inhumane” sacrifices.

As a mother of a furry baby, I am shocked by the reports of animal sacrifices.

“Let’s be clear, this is not about religion, it’s about calling out bad actors who wrap themselves in religion to commit these inhumane acts.”

She added that she has called for more patrols in the areas, as well as better fencing and multilingual signage prohibiting the practice.

One of the recent discoveries was this newborn rat that was locked in a plastic bag with a coconut and some chicken bones

Boxes containing bones of roosters and other birds have also been discovered

The right to religious animal sacrifice has been upheld by the Supreme Court, but animal cruelty remains a crime in New York

Several rescuers have linked the sacrifices to a Hindu sect that worships the goddess Kali and has long practiced the practice in Jamaica Bay. Religious leaders, however, say there are many religions that practice animal sacrifice.

Several rescuers have linked the sacrifices to a Hindu sect that worships the goddess Kali and has long practiced the tradition in Jamaica Bay.

“It is a misinterpretation of what the scriptures say about overcoming animal values,” Acharya Arun Gossai, who manages the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple in Ozone Park, told the New York Post.

“They twisted it and sacrificed a real animal instead of sacrificing the animal qualities of man.”

“It’s not a cut and dry situation. There are many other faith communities that do perform animal sacrifices,” added Aminta Kilawan-Narine, co-founder of the Hindu group Sadhana, which organizes clean-ups of the carcasses.