At least temporarily. The bullock at the centre of a row has won a reprieve from the courts.Shambo, a 'sacred' bullock who lives in a multi-faith community in Carmarthenshire, has tested positive for bovine TB. Normally this would mean a death sentence but monks at the temple have fought for his life to be spared on the grounds that it would breach the Human Rights Convention (Article 9).
The Welsh Assembly government has lodged an appeal and the fight goes on.
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4 comments:
What about the humans' rights? I hope TB isn't spread to humans.
I was so glad he was reprieved, poor thing.
Liz,I somehow missed your take on this question.
To be just I offer my own.
This inscrutable chaos I experience as life does allow some choice. With good action or good intention as a guide and all my attention focussed on myself and what I can do or can not do, I admit I could not harbor a sick animal, or for that matter a sick contagious human, untreated. If the keepers of the animal can find no way to quarantine or cure the beast then the keepers of the animal ought to decide what the appropriate good action is. This is probably to initially fight but to ultimately submit to government intervention.
Your question is a good one Liz.
Thank-you for sparking some thought here.
Jack, I don't think there is a cure but he is being treated and kept quarantined. The monks who look after him insist they have taken every precaution and that there is no danger to other animals or humans.
On the other hand, farmers who consider their livelihood to be at risk do not believe that can be guaranteed. And they do not believe there should be one rule for them and another rule for the monks.
My own faith doesn't involve holding things up as sacred, but I respect their faith.
I was about to say that the law should be for everyone but then another topic just flitted into my mind. Illegal immigrants. I read on someone's blog the opinion that the very phrase 'illegal immigrants' says it all. They are here illegally. Yet I believe there should be generous discretion allowed for dealing with them, so to be logical, I should say the same about Shambo: if the authorities can be assured that the risk is minimal at most, and the animal is not in pain or unwell, then he should be allowed to live - with regular checks.
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