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Sacred bull Shambo must die
23/07/2007 21:24 - (SA)
London - Shambo, a sacred bull kept by a group of Hindus in Wales, has tested positive for bovine turberculosis and it can be slaughtered, a London court ruled on Monday.
However, it's not all over for Shambo as the case is likely to be taken to Britain's highest court, the House of Lords, for a final verdict.
The Shambo saga began earlier this month when the Welsh
regional government ordered that the six-year-old animal, the temple bull at the Skanda Vale community in Llanpumsaint, Carmarthen, should be killed on health grounds.
Cows are sacred to Hindus and more than 20 000 people signed a petition to save Shambo. They have also constructed a special shrine to Shambo in their main temple.
The believers argued he was healthy and that to kill him
would be "an appalling desecration of life, the sanctity of our temple and Hinduism".
The High Court in Cardiff, Wales, last week agreed with the
group (called the Community of the Many Names of God) that Shambo should be saved because the Welsh assembly's decision failed to give enough weight to their religious rights.
However, the assembly appealed against that verdict and on
Monday London's Court of Appeal ruled the minister's original decision to order Shambo's slaughter was "justified" on public health grounds.
There was no immediate reaction from the Hindu community as
they said they wanted to examine the ruling in full.
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