For some people, the mention of voodoo evokes something like a scene from the James Bond novel “Live and Let Die,” featuring occult ceremonies with snakes and animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice was widespread among human societies thousands of years ago, but declined with the rise of Christianity. However, the ritual sacrifice and slaughter of animals persist in many religious practices today, including in voodoo, which spread with the slave trade from West Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Voodoo economics: How wildlife trade for ritual use is wiping out Africa’s vultures
