Hindu fury at RSPCA over holy cow killing
London,
Dec
26:
Hundreds
of
Hindus
are
expected
to
protest
outside
the
Royal
Society
for
the
Prevention
of
Cruelty
to
Animals
(RSPCA)
headquarters
today
over
the
slaughter
of
a
sacred
cow
at
their
temple
while
they
worshipped.
The RSPCA was accused of secretly killing Gangotri, a sick 13-year-old Belgian blue-Jersey cross, by lethal injection at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire. ''We are holding a peaceful prayer protest at the way Gangotri was killed. The RSPCA made the decision to kill the cow immediately. Given the chance we would have taken legal action to try to stop it,'' Daily Mail quoted temple spokesman Vinay Tanna as saying. The temple said it would send 200 delegates to the RSPCA headquarters in Horsham, West Sussex. Meanwhile, a religious ceremony to mark the end of the mourning period for the cow will be attended by 700 Hindus at the temple.
Cows are sacred to Hindus and the killing of one is considered sacrilege.
Community leader Gauri Das said monks caring for the cow were bundled away by police and the head farmer was distracted as it had a lethal injection.
He
said
the
cow
was
sick
but
was
not
diseased.
The
temple
runs
The
Cow
Protection
Project
and
allows
old
animals
to
die
naturally.
The
RSPCA
said
''The
cow
has
been
suffering
from
painful,
infected
sores,
her
limbs
had
become
wasted
and
her
breathing
difficult.
Three
vets
agreed
the
animal
was
suffering
and
should
be
immediately
euthanised.''
UNI