Kathmandu, March 16 -- Skin and bones are scattered feet away from buffaloes awaiting slaughter. Mud, blood and entrails form a slurry on the killing floor.

Having arrived from the southern plains, packed by the dozen onto the beds of trucks, these bovines are pulled off and corralled. They are then pummelled to death with sledgehammers, before being skinned and eviscerated-the half-digested feed emptied from their stomachs into overflowing drains.

Splashes of blood and mud dry on slaughterhouse walls, while the stench of urine and faeces permeates the air.

In Kathmandu's slaughter spots alongside the Bishnumati River, workers use the muddied animal hides as work surfaces and hammer at flesh and bones with blunt cleavers. The meat is d...