By John Di Leonardo
Jamaica Bay has long been a popular religious site for local Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean populations living in Richmond Hill and Ozone Park, with Jamaica Bay being nicknamed “the Ganges” by some after the sacred waterway in India. Locals regularly leave offerings of flowers and fruits, prayer flags, and statues of deities. However, not all visitors have been so benevolent, with animal sacrifices being reported multiple times a week at this location over the past few decades, finding a peak with chickens, pigs, rats, goats, and even dogs and cats suspected of being tortured and killed in “twisted” religious rituals on federal parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay and Gateway National Park this summer.
According to the New York Post, “in a little over a month, at least nine wounded animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel — including five live pigs with partially severed ears.” Evidence points not to followers of a single religion, but several groups independently practicing Santeria, voodoo, and perhaps most prolifically, a sect of Hindu devotees who worship the goddess Kali and have been documented sacrificing animals in the area for decades.
Acharya Tulsi Ji (Photo provided by: Arvind Vora)
But as Acharya Arun Gossai, who runs the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple in Ozone Park, told the New York Post, animal sacrifice is not religious at all as it pertains to Hinduism. Instead, “It’s a misconstruing of what the scriptures say about conquering the animalistic values ... They’ve twisted it and they’ve sacrificed an actual animal rather than sacrificing the animalistic qualities of man.”
Now, Council Member Joann Ariola of Queens is speaking out and vowing to work with federal agencies and religious groups to stop this cruelty. While the United States Constitution protects freedom of religion, it does not permit animal cruelty to be carried out in federal parks and it does not allow animals who are illegal to harbor in New York City—like roosters and pigs—to be harbored within city limits. It also does not allow the harassment and intimidation of rescuers, like what has been experienced by volunteers with Sasha’s Mission and Zion’s Mission, two animal nonprofit animal rescue organizations who are on the front lines rescuing the animals and documenting these brutal killings. Kim Fraser, a volunteer with Sasha’s Mission, found a rooster with a broken neck left on her car only days ago while searching for survivors.
I’ve long spoken up against animal sacrifice, and the politics of it are not easy, even resulting in my arrest—and dismissal of charges—for it a decade ago last month, so it is refreshing to see the public—and an elected official—taking a stand. When we speak up, we can save lives, like the lives of 7 chickens I rescued from voodoo tonight and dozens of chickens and a pig my organization Humane Long Island helped rescue from Jamaica Bay over the past couple of years.
For this week’s Anuvrat, I invite you to speak up even when it is most difficult, when you are threatened or intimidated, or when it is on a subject that may be taboo. If you have knowledge about animal sacrifice occurring in New York—at this location or another—please reach out to me at [email protected].
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John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Photo provided by the author)
