More temple cows could die in TB alert

More cattle could be slaughtered at the Hindu temple that was home to Shambo the bull after it was confirmed that he was suffering from TB.

Post mortem examination results on the six-year-old Friesian - who was put down on Thursday after an all-day stand-off - confirmed he was carrying the disease.

That has raised the prospect of as many as seven other sacred cows as well as water buffalo and deer at the West Wales temple being taken away for slaughter.

Shambo was part of a large menagerie owned by the community, including an elephant - called Valli - ponies, goats, llamas and fish.

Experts, however, said only the cattle, water buffalo and deer were likely to be at risk.

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Local farmers had demanded Shambo be killed, saying religious sensitivities should not stand in the way of the battle to contain bovine TB.

Yesterday's preliminary test results revealed Shambo had lesions suggesting the early stages of TB.

Further tests will be carried out to establish whether he risked infecting other cattle before he was taken away.

Until then the fate of the rest of the Skanda Vale temple's sacred herd hangs in the balance.

Two cows gave positive skin tests for TB last month while five others produced inconclusive results. No further action is expected until they have been retested.

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One leading farming insider said: "The fact the other cows have given positive or inconclusive results means there's a good chance TB will have spread already, and it shows why Shambo should have been slaughtered weeks ago."

The monks argued that Shambo could be kept in isolation or be sent to a cow sanctuary in India rather than be slaughtered.

They want the law changed so animals regarded as sacred get special treatment.

That view was criticised by Jay Lakhani, of the Hindu Council, who said that by sacrificing their diseased animals for the good of the wider community, the farmers were actually better in tune with the tenets of Hinduism.