Britain's Hindu forum expresses relief over 'Shambo', sacred bull

London, July 16 (UNI) The Hindu Forum of Britain expressed its deep sense of relief and appreciation at the High Court's decision to save Shambo, the sacred bull, from slaughter.

Ramesh Kallidai from the Hindu Forum of Britain said,''We feel that the High Court came to right conclusion when it said that slaughtering Shambo would be a gross interference of the Hindu community's right to worship. This is a historic judgement and we commend the proportionate response of the learned judges, especially as Shambo will never enter the human chain.

A key criticism of the earlier decision to slaughter Shambo had been the subjectivity and hence unreliability of the test. This is a landmark judgement in the history of religious worship in the UK.'' Presenting its case to the Court hearing in Cardiff, the Skandavale temple solictors told them that destroying Shambo would be a ''particularly extreme affront'' to the community and a ''serious infringement'' of its beliefs.

Ishwer Taylor, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain said, ''The Shambo saga provides an ethical dilemma for many of the stakeholders involved. At the core of the issue is the place accorded to the cow and the bull in Hinduism. In the Hindu tradition, the cow is respected like a mother, and the bull like a father and cow-protection, is therefore considered an important part of the faith.

''We believe that the BTB testing and treatment process needs to be re-evaluated so as to prevent the needless slaughter of cattle throughout Wales and the UK, particularly. The Forum has written to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment to review the Agricultural Law affecting sacred animals in temples.'' UNI