The Shambo Cow blogs

(Picture hat tip Phil Caldicott)

The growth of "live blogging" has been increasing over the past year or so. It started, in my experience, with sporting events and moved in to the political world with election night. Now we have live blogs for by-elections and the weekly PMQs. But I have to say, today the Guardian have just taken the next giant step towards live blogging on absolutely anything.

Some Guardian hack (Mathew Weaver) has been sat at his desk all day watching the 24 News coverage and news sites on the internet and using whatever means he can get their hands on to cover the big story of the day... "Shambo to the Slaughter". A sick cow that is heading for the slaughter house.

The bovine has a cow form of TB but a load of religious types who believe the cow cow is sacred are refusing to let the authorities take it away. This, my good people, deserves paying someone to blog about all day. Incredibly Mathew Weaver has been glued to "MooTube" (Shambo's webcam) all day to keep a gripped nation up to date. Barely twenty minutes has passed all day without an update. Don't believe me, click here.

Commentary has included:

7.45am
Shambo, the sacred Hindu bullock with bovine TB, is due to be taken for slaughter this morning, but the Welsh authorities will have to break up a religious ceremony to get him. Follow what happens here.

8.30am
Shambo himself has shuffled to the left of his straw-lined pen ... then back to the right.

8.50am
The vets have arrived and the monks have gone to greet them. The music has got faster and the mood changed.

9.30am
Thanks for all your comments below. Sorry if some of you think this is all too trivial for the Guardian to be covering, but as noted in earlier posts, this case has sparked worldwide interest, and you did all click on it.

9.50am
Radio Wales has been playing Buffalo Soldier, while we wait for the vets to return with their warrant and cattle truck.

11.00am
For the bullock-spotters out there, those tags on Shambo's ear read: 742266 200001.

...

4.45pm
Police have returned and used bolt cutters to get access to the farm, BBC Wales reports. They are now removing people from temple area.

5.10pm
The Press Association is reporting the following:

A group of 20 police officers marched in and surrounded the temple after cutting the chain which had secured the gates. Some of those who had gathered to worship in front of Shambo had to be dragged and carried from the scene by officers after refusing to leave.

It's not looking good for Shambo - go the live blog now to keep up to date for biggest breaking story in Europe.