It's D-Day for Shambo as courts prepare to decide the sacred bull's fate
Hindu campaigners are holding their breath in anticipation today as a court hearing on the fate of Shambo the sacred bull is held.
Shambo tested positive for bovine TB during a routine screening in May and was promptly earmarked for slaughter. A groundswell of Hindu opposition sparked a campaign to save him, with protestors at one point threatening to form a protective ring around the sacred creature.
The Fresian bull has been kept in isolation at the Skanda Vale Temple in Llanpumsaint ever since.
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Shambo is blissfully unaware of the proceedings in court today that could decide whether he lives or dies
In court today Shambo's would-be saviours argued that slaughtering him would infringe the Hindu beliefs of his keepers.
Destroying Shambo would be a "particularly extreme affront" to the community and a "serious infringement" of its beliefs, the High Court hearing in Cardiff was told.
Applying for a judicial review, David Anderson QC said: "He is an animal whose slaughter would constitute a violation of deeply-held religious views."
He said studies on other animals, including one on a gorilla, had showed TB could be treated.
As support grew around the world Shambo outlived the date originally set for his demise. A webcam nicknamed Moo Tube was set up to allow fans to see Shambo in a specially constructed shrine, and his plight - as well as the fervour of his protectors - attracted much media attention.
But earlier this month Jane Davidson, the Welsh Assembly Government's Rural Development Minister, confirmed that Shambo had to be slaughtered.
Members of a small Hindu community in west Wales are now hoping the decision to kill the six-year-old bull will be overturned at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, where lawyers backed by the British Hindu Forum will argue Shambo's case today.
Father Alex, of the Skanda Vale Temple, said the community believes they have a "very, very good chance" of saving Shambo.
Five members of the temple community, which is home to 20 monks and six nuns, are attending today's hearing. It was not expected to last longer than one day.
