There are many different types of cults and religions that abuse and/or sacrifice animals. Santeria is estimated to have at least 1 million followers nationwide.(1) Thousands of animals, including chickens, quail, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, and dogs, are killed each day during its religious rituals. Sacrifices take place in secluded areas or in priests' homes or other secret meeting places.

Slaughter and Symbols

Santeria sacrifices, normally attended by about 10 to 25 people, last an average of four hours but may last days. Larger animals, such as goats or sheep, typically have their throats slit, whereas smaller animals' heads may be torn or twisted off by ritual participants. The heads of pigeons and other birds may be put into the mouth of the Santero (priest), and their necks crushed or bitten through. The animals' blood is poured over Santeros or into containers for consumption.(2)

Satanic activity may also involve animal abuse. Animals have been found bludgeoned to death, burned with acid, and dismembered.

Some ritual holidays involving animals are:

• Jan. 7: St. Winebald Day
• Feb. 25: St. Walpurgis Day
• Mar. 20: Feast Day
  (Spring Equinox)
• Sept. 22: Feast Day
  (Fall Equinox)
• Dec. 22: Feast Day

Rites and Rules

Some followers of Santeria have been brought to court. In the case of First Church of Chango, Inc., v. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York City, the New York courts ruled that animal sacrifice is not fully protected by the first amendment. Santeria is a religion, but it is the belief, and not the practices, of a religion that the first amendment protects absolutely.(3) A Santeria high priest in Washington, D.C., agreed to use wine in rituals instead of animal blood. Followers of Santeria have also been cited for the cruel conditions in which they keep animals. Animals awaiting slaughter have been found with their legs tied, unable to move, crammed into crates.(4)

What You Can Do

If you discover evidence or have knowledge of any case of animal sacrifice or mutilation, contact the police. In addition, find out who in your town, county, or state investigates and enforces the anticruelty code (such as an officer from a humane society or SPCA) and provide him or her with a concise, written, factual statement.

One way to determine whether religious cults that practice animal sacrifice (such as Santeria) exist in your community is to consult your telephone directory's yellow pages under religious suppliers or "botanicas." Botanicas are stores that sell beads and other supplies used in ritual sacrifice and other cult practices.

To protect your own companion animals from theft for animal sacrifices, keep them indoors, on leashes, or closely supervised. Black cats are especially vulnerable around Halloween, when people look for them to use in their "festivities."

Determine whether the zoning ordinance in your area prohibits the possession, breeding, and sale of any fowl or grazing animals in any residential and commercial area of your community; if not, organize a letter-writing campaign to city officials urging them to revise the ordinance. (This would create an obstacle for individuals who sell animals for sacrifice.)

Unfortunately, ordinances that specifically prohibit the killing or maiming of animals for ritualistic purposes can be problematic. In 1993, the Supreme Court found that three Hialeah, Fla., ordinances banning animal sacrifices at a Santeria church violated the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom. However, the reason that these laws were ruled unconstitutional was because they specifically targeted religious practices alone. Animal sacrifices may still be banned as long as the subject of regulation is the method of sacrifice, "not a religious classification that is said to bear some relationship to it." In other words, regulation under a neutral anticruelty statute is still permissible. For example, a municipality can still, in effect, ban animal sacrifice by banning all slaughter outside licensed packinghouses or by prohibiting the keeping of certain animals in residential areas.(5)

If all else fails, you can always visit or call your local newspapers or television stations and try to interest reporters in the story. A news story may force officials to act or scare the person causing the abuse into stopping.

References

1. Anderson, Paul, et al., "A Triumph for Santeria," Miami Herald, June 12, 1993.
2. McFarland, Cole, "The Secrets of Santeria, Part Two," The Animals' Voice, Vol. 2, No. 5, p. 44.
3. Francione, Gary L., "Santeria and the First Amendment," The Animals' Voice, Vol. 2, No. 5, p. 45.
4. Sanchez, Carlos, "Animal Sacrifice Ritual Spurs Rights Debate in D.C.," The Washington Post, Oct. 30, 1987, p. C1.
5. Anderson, et al.