LONDON, UK, December 14, 2007: The Hindu community in Britain expressed shock at the killing of Gangotri, a sacred cow at the largest Hindu temple at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, on Thursday morning.
“The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), aided by a vet and escorted by police officers, secretly killed a cow at the Bhaktivedanta Manor this morning while devotees were at prayer,” the community said in a statement.
The statement continues, “The cow, named Gangotri, a 13-year-old Belgian Blue and Jersey cross, much loved by the community, was killed at 9 am at the Bhaktivedanta Manor. Police bundled away monks who were in attendance of the sick cow and a lethal injection was given. Cows are sacred to Hindus, and the killing of a cow inside a sacred temple amounts to religious sacrilege of the worst kind,” the community said.
Gangotri has been injured for more than a year and suffered from bed sores because she could no longer stand. Government ministers have strongly defended the decision to kill the cow and end her suffering. The killing was conducted despite assurances given the previous day from RSPCA officers and police that due to religious sensitivities no immediate action would be taken.
Temple Member Gauri Das expressed the astonishment of Hindus at the government’s action. ”You can expect protests and lobbying, we will do whatever it takes to be heard. We are all in shock at the moment, we are all too shocked to even be angry.” Julie Stainton, a spokeswoman for the RSPCA, said the organisation had done everything it could to observe religious sensitivities, but ”It would have been wrong to allow this situation to continue. This animal had been in constant pain and suffering for some time.”
A sacred bull named Shambo was slaughtered in the UK in July last after it had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Shambo was slaughtered despite an intense campaign by Hindu groups to save him.
The Telegraph also report on the story here.