On 13 December 2007, police,
RSPCA inspectors and a government veterinarian arrived at the
Bhaktivedanta Manor temple in Hertfordshire and killed Gangotri by the administration of a lethal injection. Gangotri was not suffering from any disease, but had damaged her hind muscles and could not stand. She was cared for by the temple staff, and the temple had employed veterinarians to medically care for her and to monitor her health. The temple, donated in 1973 by
George Harrison, runs the Cow Protection Project, a
no-kill shelter where cows and bulls are allowed to die naturally. The RSPCA claimed that the cow was suffering; however, they killed the cow without consultation with the veterinarians treating the cow. They claimed to have consulted other veterinarians. The temple officials countered these claims as follows: "Two veterinary surgeons, one who lived locally and the other a specialist based in Oxford, were regularly supervising the cow’s medical treatment. They were administering medicine themselves, and also guiding the daily care being given by the community members. It is normal farming practise that once a cow is down or cannot walk, she will be killed by the vet because, within a few weeks, physical complications will arise that most farmers don’t have the time to deal with. As a religious community, we made the choice to care, and those two vets chose to support us. Two other vets, who were unfamiliar with the way we work with animals, one of whom was merely a passer-by, gave different opinions. At first, the chief vet responsible for animal welfare in the appropriate government department, known as
Defra, also gave a recommendation that the cow be killed. When he made a personal visit to the temple however, and saw how the animal was being cared for, he informed us that no further action would be taken". == Protests and legal action ==