CARMARTHENSHIRE, WALES, July 17, 2007: Farmers have condenmed a “ludicrous” High Court decision to reprieve a bull infected with TB because it was worshipped by a religious community. Shambo, a six-year-old Friesian, was to be destroyed in line with agricultural safeguards after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis. The decision was overturned by a High Court judge who said that the slaughter would contravene the human rights of the Skanda Vale Community, in Carmarthenshire, which shielded him in line with the Hindu faith. Hindus believe cows are sacred animals that must be protected. The judge said the cow’s death would interfere with the community’s right to “manifest” its religious beliefs under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Evan Thomas, who represents the Farmers’ Union of Wales on the Welsh Assembly’s TB action group, said: “This ludicrous ruling contradicts the principles upon which successful TB eradication programs throughout the world have been based for generations. “This area has suffered the ravages of TB for years, and this ruling has infuriated all those farmers who have lost thousands of animals to this disease. “The fact that the judgment will now place their farms at greater risk will further dishearten an already depressed community.”
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