New Taipei City, Taiwan
Photography byTyrone Siu. Reporting byFabian HamacherandDamon Lin.
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The winner of Taiwan's "holy pig" ceremony on Thursday defended the lunar new year tradition against critics who argue the fattened animals are raised under cruel conditions.
The ceremony harkens back to a time when early Chinese settlers to Taiwan used to pray to mountain gods and local deities for protection against wild animals and other threats.
. New Taipei City, TAIWAN. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
Each new year, the fattened pigs are slaughtered and the carcasses decorated and paraded through the streets of Sanhsia, a traditional district in northern Taiwan, to the temple.
. New Taipei City, TAIWAN. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
The owner of the biggest pig wins the competition and with it an auspicious sign that the year to come will be a lucky one.
"This is a custom at our Tzu Shih Yeh (founder ancestor) temple in Sanhsia. We cannot abolish this tradition," said Liu Ching-sheng, owner of this year's winning pig.
. New Taipei City, TAIWAN. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
Animal protection groups say the process of fattening the pigs -- a pig raised for the ceremony can weigh more than 800 kg (1763 lbs) compared to a normal weight of 120 kg -- is cruel.
"Just like for us humans, obesity in animals is a disease," Chen Yu-min, director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, told Reuters Television.
. New Taipei City, TAIWAN. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
She said the pigs' movements are restricted while they are fattened and the additional weight puts a strain on their internal organs.
"In addition to the inhumane process of fattening is the last moment when they are about to be slaughtered. This moment is actually very cruel and inhumane," she said.
