Your emails are urgently needed to stop the planned ritual slaughter of at least 10 animals for a traditional African "blessing" of the World Cup in June, 2010. Please use the World Cup Contact Page to demand that this atrocity be halted and replaced with a humane alternative. Withholding your tourism dollars and letting the World Cup organizers know that you will not support this event, or the South African economy, unless and until this proposal is dropped, is the most effective way to express your outrage.

Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, said the tournament has to to be blessed in true "African style" and that they are going to slaughter cows in sacrifice at each of the 10 stadiums to be used for the event.
The traditional sacrifice methods are GROSSLY inhumane and full of cruelty! You can view HOW it is done here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaxRE44Erss

South Africa is hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup in June 2010. It is THE most watched sporting event in the world. Now, South African traditional leaders intend performing ritual animal slaughters in order to "bless" the country's Soccer Stadiums for the 2010 World Cup tournament scheduled to take place June 2010.

PLEASE GO TO THIS WEBSITE AND COPY/PASTE THE BELOW OR COMPOSE YOUR OWN LETTER-THIS GOES DIRECTLY TO THE SOCCER OFFICIALS (there is no email-you must go to the FIFA web form):

WORLD CUP ORGANIZERS CONTACT PAGE
http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html

ISSA HAYATOU [Chairman of the 2010 World Cup Organizing Committee - Cameroon]
IRVIN KHOZA [South Africa 2010 Chairman]
DANNY JORDAAN [South Africa 2010 World Cup - CEO]

LETTER:

Please suggest to the 2010 Soccer Committee (FIFA)  to institute dance, music, and art to awe the public, rather than sicken and disgust everybody with blood sacrifice to represent South Africa. Beautiful music, art and dance of South Africa is something to be PROUD of-not blood sacrifice and screams of agony.  Please show the world South Africa at its best!-not a blood bath full of pain, which upsets most people. Traditional South African dance,music and art is simply dazzling! This is the South Africa that the world needs to see!-that it is a nation of Beauty with rich harmony!

African music, dress, and dance is the ~best~ in the world-and is TRULY something to be VERY proud of, most satisfying to the senses and rich with culture and history! -THIS is what I would love to see! PLEASE DO NOT DEPRIVE US OF YOUR GORGEOUS MUSIC, DANCE AND ART!! Please, please show this instead!!-not blood sacrifice, which will be upsetting to most of us. Let this be a festive occasion-not blood and gore-please no animal sacrifice.
 
Besides, what does cutting cow throats open have to do with 2010 soccer game?-Do you think most people enjoy watching an animal suffer and bleed to death-this gore fest is nauseating!    Most people in civilized nations oppose the proposed, barbaric practice of slaughtering animals in the name of 'CULTURE' and request that it be stopped. Animal sacrifice is repugnant in most cultures and is viewed as barbaric and savage, further giving Africa such a reputation-also please spare our children of such a spectacle of violence and gore, which is even child abuse by exposing them to this violence.

The last thing Africa needs, is to reinforce the stereotype, that it is savage, blood thirsty, and backward, without an ability to progress.

"We must have a cultural ceremony of some sort, where we are going to slaughter a beast," said Zolani Mkiva, chairman of a group responsible for coordinating cultural activities at South Africa 2010.

"We sacrifice the cow for this great achievement and we call on our ancestors to bless, to grace, to ensure that all goes well. It's about calling for the divinity to prevail for a fantastic atmosphere. We believe that from the start we've got to do things in accordance with our own traditions."

Rubbish. It's just a soccer game that happens to be held in Africa.  What you do in that game represents YOUR Country--Do you honestly want the world to associate South Africa with mangled gore-writhing bleeding animals--, OR associated with culture, art, and music.   The choice is yours. Animal sacrifice is inappropriate for a soccer game, and not a badge of honor, but of great shame, and does not represent South Africa's richness in culture, art, and music.

Respectfully submitted,