Welsh authorities today confirmed that the bovine TB-infected 'sacred' bull Shambo was put down by a lethal injection soon after it was taken from the Skanda Vale temple on Thursday night. In a joint statement with the police, the Welsh Assembly Government said it had been "an extremely difficult operation for all concerned". The animal's slaughter brings to an end what many in Britain saw as a bizarre tussle between religion and state.

The Welsh authorities had to use the police to clear hurdles created by Hindu activists Thursday at the Skanda Vale temple, where the six-year-old bull was housed, when they went there to collect the animal for slaughter. They finally managed to take Shambo away at 7.30 p.m. GMT.

About 100 Hindu worshippers from various parts of Britain, Switzerland and New Zealand had converged at the temple to prevent the authorities from carrying out the slaughter order. The gathering chanted Hindu religious chants and created barriers to the pen in which Shambo was housed. But as the day progressed, the activists were physically removed to clear the way for the officials to collect Shambo and load it on to an animal trainer for subsequent slaughter.

The activists initially had refused permission to the officials to enter the temple complex. The officials then returned with a court warrant to collect Shambo. The human chain formed around Shambo's pen was broken as the police physically removed those present even while the 'bhajans' continued.

It was slow process, but one that was carried out calmly and with dignity on both sides. The issue, however, generated some interest here with many questioning the rationale behind extending preferential treatment to an infected animal that had been adopted as a symbol of Hindu religion.

A posting on the Shamblog hosted by The Guardian said: "This is religious extremism at its most self-aggrandizing. It reminds me of those pious Catholics in Italy who insisted on keeping the disabled man on the ventilator against his will.

"This animal is suffering needlessly while the priests make a show for the world of what great Hindus they all are. The humane authorities need to stop fumfering around and euthanise the poor beast".

Another posting on the blog read: "Special pleadings on religious grounds are entirely unreasonable. The law exists, in this case, to protect the health of the nation, and it would be madness to allow it to be flouted.

"No other subsection of society would be allowed to place itself above the law, and the same must apply to religious groups. Otherwise, it's open house for all and sundry to disregard any law that doesn't fit with one dogma or another.

"This bullock must be treated the same as any other member of its species diagnosed with bovine TB. It's time for the farce to end."

Meanwhile, criticising the Welsh Assembly Government, Michael from the Skanda Vale temple alleged that the government had "committed the most violent and ignorant act of desecration of our temple and destroyed an innocent life".

He said: "What a sad day to see our government behaving with such gross ignorance. The perpetrators of this act will suffer the consequences of their actions for generations to come."

Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, added: "The Welsh Assembly refused to accept a second test for Shambo and refused to export him to India where Hindu organisations wanted to take care of Shambo.

"The Assembly says it wants to slaughter (the bull) in a sensitive manner, but how can rejecting such reasonable requests be considered sensitive? This act has caused great sorrow and grief to Hindus all round the world, and the Welsh government has told the world that they do not care about desecration of a world religion, but only about a policy that by its nature is faulty anyway."

The Forum claimed that Hindu organisations in Holland, Belgium, Italy, India, America, Australia and Canada had written to it, expressing concerns about the alleged violation of the community's right to worship.

"We will now seek a meeting with the Secretary of State for the Environment to check how agricultural law can cater to the needs of sacred animals in Hindu temples in Britain," said Kallidai.