Along the waterway, which has been nicknamed the “Ganges” by some, after the sacred body of water in India, people regularly gather to give offerings, typically flowers and fruits, and leave statues of deities as well as prayer flags.
This week, The Post observed Quealy and another animal rescuer, Kim Fraser, track down a trio of piglets that had their ears and tails cut off — roughly 100 feet away from a pair of statuettes of Hindu deities resting atop a mound of turf alongside a trio of flags.
Prayer flags were spotted nearby bundled up in the brush.
Followers of other religions whose rituals involve animal sacrifice, such as Santeria and voodoo, also have been known to use beaches and parks surrounding Jamaica Bay to carry out bloody rites.
“It’s not a cut and dry situation. There are many other faith denominations that do practice animal sacrifice,” said Aminta Kilawan-Narine, a Howard Beach resident and co-founder of Hindu group Sadhana, which organizes Jamaica Bay clean-ups where carcasses have been discovered.
The US Supreme Court upheld the right to animal sacrifice on religious grounds in a 1993 ruling.
Under New York State law, however, aggravated cruelty to animals, meanwhile is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.
There have been no 911 calls for animal abuse 106th Precinct, which covers Howard Beach, the NYPD said.
But John Di Leonardo, founder and executive director of the animal rescue and advocacy group Humane Long Island, which also services the five boroughs, said Jamaica Bay has emerged as a “hotspot” for animal cruelty.
He estimated he’d received at least a dozen calls about animal sacrifice in the Jamaica Bay area so far this year, compared to three or four for all of 2023.