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Judges hear 'sacred' bull appeal Judges hear 'sacred' bull appeal
(30 minutes later)
Three appeal court judges have begun hearing the case of Shambo the bullock which tested positive for TB at a Hindu temple in Carmarthenshire. Three appeal court judges have begun hearing the case of Shambo the bullock who tested positive for tuberculosis (TB) at a Hindu temple in west Wales.
The assembly government is asking them to overturn the ruling of a high court judge that it acted unlawfully in ordering Shambo's slaughter.The assembly government is asking them to overturn the ruling of a high court judge that it acted unlawfully in ordering Shambo's slaughter.
Lawyers for the monks at Skanda Vale argued that the order was against the Human Rights Convention. Lawyers for the monks at the multi-faith Skanda Vale community said it infringed their human rights.
On Monday, a High Court judge quashed the slaughter decision.On Monday, a High Court judge quashed the slaughter decision.
His Honour Judge Gary Hickinbottom said it was unlawful and should be reconsidered.His Honour Judge Gary Hickinbottom said it was unlawful and should be reconsidered.
But, he said: "This judgement does not, of course, guarantee that, as the community wish, Shambo will live until he dies a natural death. At the Court of Appeal sitting in Cardiff on Friday, the assembly government argued that his decision was wrong in law and that evidence had been misinterpreted.
"This judgement merely rules that the decisions of 3 May and 3 July to issue the slaughter notice and to pursue the slaughter under that notice were unlawful and will be quashed." He had ruled that the "surveillance and slaughter" policy adopted by the assembly was not a legitimate objective.
'Viable alternatives'
Brother Alex, a monk at Skanda Vale, said the community was "delighted" with the decision.
Speaking outside the court on Monday, he said: "The judge has vindicated what has been our position all along, that there are viable alternatives to slaughtering an animal."
But some AMs and members of the farming community reacted angrily to the ruling, saying Shambo should face the same fate as other cattle.
Last year, 5,220 cattle in Wales alone were culled because they failed the TB test, and the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said the decision to quash the slaughter order could set back disease control.
Shambo is housed in a temple in the grounds of Skanda ValeShambo is housed in a temple in the grounds of Skanda Vale
Lawyers for both parties had laid out their arguments at a Cardiff hearing the week before the judgement. But Jonathan Crow QC said the objective was to control bovine TB and that "surveillance and slaughter" was the accepted means to achieve it.
David Anderson QC for the Hindu monks at the Skanda Vale community near Llanpumsaint, had said Shambo was an animal of "considerable religious importance" and as such, a policy devised for farm animals could not be applied to it. He said the judge had also been wrong in finding that the assembly government had not given enough weight to the right of the monks at Skanda Vale near Llanpumsaint, Carmarthenshire, to practise their religion.
He said members of the community believed that slaughtering Shambo would be "a desecration of the temple". He said the decision had been taken on the basis that slaughtering Shambo was a grave interference with that right but was still essential on health grounds.
But Clive Lewis QC for the assembly government, said the matter had been carefully considered by the Rural Development Minister Jane Davidson, who had taken advice from the chief veterinary officer and the chief medical officer. The three court of appeal judges said they will reserve their decision.
Video stream On Monday, His Honour Judge Gary Hickinbottom had said that his judgement did not guarantee that, as the community wished, Shambo would live until he dies a natural death.
Mr Lewis also told the court tuberculosis was an infectious disease capable of transmission, and there was no accepted treatment for bovine TB in the UK. 'Wrong approach'
After testing positive in early May, Shambo was put into isolation within the temple near Llanpumsaint, and a high-profile campaign to save him was launched. He said: "This judgement merely rules that the decisions of 3 May and 3 July to issue the slaughter notice and to pursue the slaughter under that notice were unlawful and will be quashed."
Online and written petitions have attracted more than 21,000 names, and a video stream has also been broadcast live from Shambo's pen in the temple. The assembly government, he added, "have adopted the wrong approach in this case" and would now have to reconsider the matter.
"They will be obliged to reconsider the public health objectives that underlie behind the surveillance and slaughter policy, and come to a view as to whether, in the reasonable pursuit of those objectives, the slaughter of this animal (or some less intrusive measure) would be proportional given the serious infringement of the community's rights under Article Nine that slaughter would involve."
Speaking outside the court on Monday, Brother Alex, a monk at Skanda Vale, said: "The judge has vindicated what has been our position all along, that there are viable alternatives to slaughtering an animal."
Last year, 5,220 cattle in Wales alone were culled because they failed the TB test, and the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said the decision to quash the slaughter order could set back disease control.
Online and written petitions have attracted more than 21,000 names, and a video stream has also been broadcast live from Shambo's pen in the Skanda Vale temple.