Sacred cow of UK temple slaughtered

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Anger after Govt. vet kills cow at Hindu temple

 

By Jonathan Petre and Gary Cleland

Last Updated: 2:23am GMT 14/12/2007

 

 

 

Britain's Hindu community expressed shock and anger after government

vets killed a sacred cow at a Hindu temple set up by the former Beatle George

Harrison.

 

a.. UK Hindu school's U-turn on vegetarian policy

a.. Animals, the law and the RSPCA

Police, RSPCA inspectors and a government vet arrived at the

temple's farm early Thursday morning and administered a lethal injection to

Gangotri, a 13-year old Belgian Blue-Jersey cross, while Hindu worshippers were

at prayer.

 

 

Gangotri was killed by lethal injection

 

 

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.

 

However, monks at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire are

devastated over the cow's death and have accused the government of underhand

tactics in the animal's slaughter.

 

Cows are sacred in the Hindu faith and the temple's president

compared the killing of the cow to the pain he would feel if his mother was

killed.

 

Gauri Das said: ''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.''

 

The outrage over Gangotri's death follows that caused by the

government-ordered slaughter of Shambo, a sacred Hindu bull who was killed in

Wales after angry protests from monks.

 

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The government's swift action in this case may have been to avoid

any angry stand-off with the Hertfordshire-based monks.

 

The plight of Gangotri yesterday sparked fierce debate in the House

of Commons. Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP for Brent North, said: ''At 9am this

morning an outrage was perpetrated against the Hindu community in this country.

 

''An RSPCA vet accompanied by three police officers went unannounced

to Bhaktivedanta Manor and put down a cow, a sacred cow, which had been nursed

by the herdsman at the manor for 14 months.

 

''This cow I must stress was not contagious in any way, was not

diseased, she had a muscle wasting problem and was nursed for bed sores alone.''

 

He added: ''This is something which has caused great concern amongst

the community - and we have laws against blasphemy in this country.''

 

Harriet Harman, the leader of the Commons, said that she understood

the ''huge strength of feeling and concern'' and said that Hilary Benn, the

Environment Secretary, would write to Mr Gardiner to explain the background.

 

When the cow was killed by lethal injection, the majority of the

temple's worshippers were at morning prayer. The RSPCA had met with Mr Das on

Wednesday and he is adamant that at the end of that meeting he was told that the

temple would be given time to seek legal advice.

 

Last night, farm manager Stuart Coyle, described how he rushed to

the farm when he heard police had arrived but was stopped by an RSPCA inspector.

He said: ''I realised that he was there to cut me off from entering the farm. By

the time I made it to the farm she was already dead.''

 

Tushta Krishna was the last person from the temple to see Gangotri

alive. He said: ''I was in the cow shed when they came in. I thought they were

simply going to check on her but a part of me worried that they were going to

kill her there and then.

 

''I started to question them and then lost my temper and a police

constable took me outside. A few moments later the vet came outside and said

'It's done'.''

 

The temple admitted that Gangotri suffered from bed sores because

she could no longer stand up after she damaged her hind muscles. However they

insist she was not suffering from any disease.

 

Yesterday followers at the temple held a series of ceremonies to

mark the end of Gangotri's life. Julie Stainton, a spokeswoman for the RSPCA,

said the organisation had done everything it could to observe religious

sensitivities.

 

But she said: ''It would have been wrong to allow this situation to

continue. This animal had been in constant pain and suffering for some time.

 

''We know the cow was suffering from painful and infected sores, her

limbs had become wasted and her breathing difficult.''

 

She said that three separate vets had agreed that the animal was

suffering and should be immediately put down.

 

The temple was funded by George Harrison in 1973 when he donated the

manor that houses around 25 monks. On its annual festival days it is visited by

about 60,000 people and David Cameron visited the temple for dinner last year.

 

The temple's farm has 42 cows and they breed four every year.

 

 

 

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