Please sign and share our petition to end the barbaric pig slaughter at the Nem Thuong Festival.

On the sixth day of the new lunar year, the Nem Thuong Festival takes place in the village of the same name in Vietnam's Bac Ninh province. The festival sees a stressed pig tied up and paraded around the village, to an accompaniment of horns and drums, before having its throat cut and head hacked off.

Traditionally, following the decapitation, onlookers dip bank notes into the blood in the hope of procuring good fortune for the New Year.

Our campaign to end the cruelty has won huge support. Polls showed 79% of the Vietnamese public were against it and key figures within the Vietnamese government also condemned the practice. Everything pointed to the cruelty being stopped.

However, authorities in Bac Ninh have pledged to continue the ritual. Their only concession in light of the opposition? To carry out the pig execution out of public view and to stop the dipping of bank notes in blood.

We are making progress but this is not enough. The pig will still be subjected to a terrifying experience. This will not break the link between celebration and animal cruelty. We must keep up the pressure.

Animals Asia is calling on the Vietnamese authorities to end the pig slaughter part of the festival. This animal cruelty is incompatible with a vibrant, modern and economically successful country like Vietnam.