By Avril Ormsby

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - A group of Hindus in west Wales won a high court victory on Monday to save their sacred bull Shambo from slaughter after he tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.

Believers at the Skanda Vale temple in Llanpumsaint, Carmarthen, had argued before the high courtin Cardiff that the animal was healthy and that to kill him would be "an appalling desecration of life, the sanctity of our temple and Hinduism".

A spokesman for the group, the Community of the Many Names of God, said the court's decision was "fantastic news".

More than 20,000 people had signed a petition to save Shambo after a notice of intended slaughter had been issued by the Welsh Assembly in May because he tested positive for tuberculosis (TB).

The case galvanised the Hindu community which said it would form a protective human chain around the bull. A special shrine was constructed within its main temple for six-year-old Shambo.

The policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is to slaughter any animal that tests positive for the disease, although it said that this particular case was an issue for the Welsh Assembly.

The Assembly and farming unions had argued that Shambo should have been slaughtered as the TB measures are in place to protect public and animal health and to prevent the further spread of the disease, a serious problem for British farmers.

But the judge, Mr Justice Hickinbottom, found in favour of the Hindu community.

The Welsh Assembly declined to comment until it had seen all the details of the verdict.

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