In Wales, Hindus Protest Plans To Slaughter Diseased Bull

In Wales, government agricultural officials say that a Friesian bull named Shambo tests positive for tuberculosis and needs to be slaughtered. However Shambo is part of a herd of 35 cows and bullocks kept on the grounds of a Hindu temple near near Carmarthen, west Wales. Killing cows and bulls violates Hindu religious principles. Today's London Telegraph reports that Shambo has now been placed in a shrine inside the Skanda Vale Temple, but local farmers say that does not guarantee against the spread of TB. They want the slaughter to proceed. 3500 people have signed an online petition against slaughtering the animal; monks are planning to file a lawsuit; and Hindu leaders are threatening to form a human shield to prevent the animal from being slaughtered. Britain's Hindu Council has gotten involved, and a member of Parliament, Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon, has introduced a resolution calling for the Environmental Secretary to stop the planned culling.