Shambo, the six-year-old scared bull at the Skanda Vale multi-faith temple, is heading for the slaughterhouse once again. And this time, there is no coming back.
The Appeal Court in London that ordered the slaughter of Shambo on Monday has rejected any further appeal to the House of Lords, the highest court in Britain.
The Temple authorities and community members across the world had been campaigning to save Shambo who tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. Over 20,000 appeals appeared on a special website to save Shambo. But now it’s the end of the road.
"We are very concerned because it seems the court and the government (Wales) have not cared about desecrating a temple and commit an act of sacrilege against the religion of ...the Hindu community to eliminate risk not actually proven. What can we say about such a thing happening in a society that is tolerant and multi-cultural," Swami Suryanada of the Temple said.
"We consistently asked for other tests to be done to verify if Shambo had bovine TB. It seems ridiculous to kill him and then carry out a post mortem to confirm if he does or does not have TB," he added.
Ramesh Kallidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "We are all devastated. As a last resort, a letter has been sent to the Welsh minister for Rural Affairs requesting that a second test for bovine TB may be done…. To kill such an important symbol of the Hindu religion on the basis of a subjective and unreliable test is not only incomprehensible but also sacrilegious."
{{/usCountry}}Ramesh Kallidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "We are all devastated. As a last resort, a letter has been sent to the Welsh minister for Rural Affairs requesting that a second test for bovine TB may be done…. To kill such an important symbol of the Hindu religion on the basis of a subjective and unreliable test is not only incomprehensible but also sacrilegious."
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