PLEASE HELP SAVE SHAMBO!

[Ela]

To be totally controversial here - should Shambo have been treated any differently to any other bullock that was diagnosed with TB? If the monks had kept him seperate there was no guarantee that his handlers would not have contracted the disease - any other bullock would have been pts at diagnosis

I actually agree with you, also where Shambo was being kept penned up (due to his condition) was not really suitable in my opinion for him to lead a fulfilled life.

[blackcat]

Hi Kelly, i think the problem here is that, with proper care and medication, it is possible to treat TB in cattle. It is simply the economic reality of commercial farming that prevents this. In this instance the temple was willing to isolate the animal and provide treatment however the authorities took a rather too literal interpretation of the law and did not consider this possibility as being an option. Hence the uproar - it was less whether the animal was sacred than whether it was possible to consider alternative options. I agree, that if it was infected and not treatable the measures imposed were appropriate. In this instance, however, that was not the case.

[Kelly]

To be totally controversial here - should Shambo have been treated any differently to any other bullock that was diagnosed with TB? If the monks had kept him seperate there was no guarantee that his handlers would not have contracted the disease - any other bullock would have been pts at diagnosis.

[Teresa Pawcats]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article2809430.ece

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

Update:

News from Skanda Vale:
 "The welsh assembly government has finally desecrated
 our temple and taken Shambo away to be slaughtered"

 
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=49750&cl=3477148&ch=161968&

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I have seen that on the news and of course I am in Carmarthenshire, dont think that Llam............place is too far from here.

 I guess the question is, whther this can be passed to humans or animals.

What I dont understand is why the monks havent had the other tests done because this has been going on for ages.

[blackcat]

yes, they do seem to have been particularly heavy-handed in that case don't they.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

PLEASE HELP SAVE SHAMBO!

Shambo is a sacred bull associated with a temple in
Wales. He tested positive for TB. The government wants
to destroy him -but the monks say they will give him
anti-biotics and keep him away from all other cattle.

Please make Shambo a symbol of your reverance for the
lives of all beings. Sign the following Petition:

http://www.wevaluelife.org/

For additional information refer to the following:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6911378.stm


Last Updated: Monday, 23 July 2007, 17:10 GMT 18:10 UK

Shambo slaughter backed by court

Shambo the bullock is being kept in a special enclosure
The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision to block the
slaughter of Shambo, the "sacred" temple bullock.
            The six-year-old animal, which is kept in a Carmarthenshire
temple by Hindu monks, has tested positive for TB.

            The Skanda Vale community said it was "devastated" by the
decision and vowed to continue to find ways of saving him.

            The Welsh Assembly Government said there was no timetable but it
wanted to act with "the minimum of distress to the animal and its carers."

            The community has fought a hard campaign since the TB test
returned positive in May, saying they were guarding against Shambo infecting other animals.

            But they have faced opposition from many quarters, including
farmers, who say the diseased animal provides a threat to the spread of TB among their herds.

                  We will now be looking to move forward but it is not
possible to give any timetable at this stage

                  Welsh assembly government

            A week ago, High Court judge Gary Hickinbottom ruled that
destroying Shambo, which is being kept at the community in Llanpumsaint,
would be unlawful.

            He said two slaughter orders had failed to give enough weight to
the rights of the monks. But on Monday the appeal court in London upheld the
assembly government's appeal.

            Lord Justice Pill, sitting with two judges who heard the case in
Cardiff last week, said former rural affairs minister Jane Davidson acted
lawfully when she refused to make an exception for Shambo as a sacred bull.

            The judge said: "I have come to the conclusion that the minister
was entitled to make the decision she did in regard to the very considerable
problem presented by bovine TB.


                  Shambo is housed in a temple in the grounds of Skanda Vale

            "The decision to eliminate the risk by slaughter and not to
permit an exception to the slaughter policy was, in my judgment, justified.

            He said the decision was justified even though Shambo's
slaughter would be considered by the community as a sacrilegious act and "a
very grave and serious interference with their religious rights".

            But reacting to the decision, Swami Suryananda of the Skanda
Vale Temple said the latest court decision seriously disregarded the
principal tenets of the Hindu religion.

            "We are devastated that an animal in our care might be taken
away for slaughter, even though it hasn't yet been proven to be a threat to
anyone.

            "We have consistently asked for other tests to be done to verify
if Shambo does have bovine TB.

            'Uniform approach'

            "It seems ridiculous to kill him and then carry out a post
mortem to confirm if he does or does not have TB."

            Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of
Britain, said killing Shambo would be a "grave desecration".

            He said: "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."

            However, NFU Cymru president Dai Davies welcomed the decision,
saying there must be "consistency and a uniform approach to upholding the
law".

            Mr Davies said: "As a farmer I have every sympathy with anyone
who has to have their livestock slaughtered due to bovine TB, however TB
must be eradicated..we can't have exceptions to the rule."

            The spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government said it had been
a "difficult case" for all involved.

            "We are glad that the court has accepted the important public
and animal health arguments in this case," he said.

            "We will now be looking to move forward but it is not possible
to give any timetable at this stage."

            The spokesman said they aimed to work closely with the community
to resolve the situation "with the minimum of distress to the animal and its
carers."
 
Ruth also wrote:
I believe Shambo would be an excellent example of the
fight to save the life of one animal - in this case a
bull. Shambo could be used as a symbol for all the
cattle, who are so callously killed in UK and US slaughter
houses, as your recent postings indicate. Just as PETA
is ably using Michael Vick to publicize the atrocities
of dog fighting, the fight to save Shambo's life could
be used to publicize the atrocities of UK/US slaughter
houses. We in the US hold dogs as sacred, and I count
myself amoung the faithful. Hindus hold the cow as
sacred - so why not make use of that view to speak out
for cattle? Certainly such devotion to Shambo on the
part of the monks bears noting...

The quote below is taken from the Hindustan Times
article:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=487fe738-9fa9-419e-a93c-dac4425e1683&&Headline=The+'sacred'+bull+faces+slaughter+again

"Swami Suryananda, also known as Brother Michael,
said: "We have put a very strong case across about our
rights, and those of all Hindus, to freely practise
religion by recognising the sanctity of life. This
decision seriously disregards the principal tenets of
Hindu dharma.

"We are devastated that an animal in our care might be
taken away for slaughter, even though it hasn't yet
been proven to be a threat to anyone. The law needs to
be broad enough and should include viable alternatives
such as isolation and treatment to achieve their
purpose so that they don't cut across people's ethics,
religion or conscience.

"We don't cull infected humans, we treat them. The
same is the case for zoo animals, so why can't the
government use their discretion in exceptional
circumstances to provide such an option within the law
on BTB?""