The campaign against animal sacrifice has driven a wedge among the 1.5 lakh strong Mali community of Vadodara, with a majority in favour of the ritual killing.

Animal sacrifice has been a part of Mali rituals for ages, and many feel that offering a goat to the deity is the only way of getting rid of their problems: from childlessness to incurable disease and from land disputes to quarrels within the family. At the moment, the law allows, the practice, provided the animal is sacrificed indoors and not at a public temple

The controversy began when the Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA), citing the Gujarat Animal and Birds Sacrifices (Prevention) Act, 1972, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, urged the police to disallow the practice henceforth. Later, the GSPCA members, reportedly in association with the police, raided a couple of houses and prevented goats from beings sacrificed ... The Mali community feels this is an intrusion into their religious affairs and registered a protest ... After the row broke out, a circular was issued by Commissioner of Police J. Mahapatra to every police station asking them not to register an offence "under pressure from any organisation" ... The circular ... notes that sacrifice is allowed within four walls ...  (Source: The Indian Express. 5 July, 2000)