To the Hindu monks living in a small monastery in southwest Wales, he is a guiding spiritual light. To local farmers and the government, he is contagious and needs to be slaughtered.

After both sides made their case in court Thursday, the fate of Shambo, the "sacred" bull revered by Hindus in the community of Skanda Vale, is now in the hands of a Welsh judge.

The animal, a six-year-old black Friesian, tested positive during a routine screening in April for bovine Tuberculosis, causing the Welsh Assembly Government to call for his slaughter. And though farmers sympathized with the 25 monks and nuns at Skanda Vale Hindu monastery, they stood their ground, arguing that Shambo is sick and needs to be put down before he infects other herds.

The Shambo showdown drew international attention, with bloggers rallying online and drawing up petition websites to spare the animal from slaughter.

It all came to a head Thursday, when the High Court in Cardiff wrapped up a review of a decision from the regional rural development minister to have the beatific bovine put down. Judge Gary Hickinbottom said he would rule on Shambo's case on Monday.

Since his plight began, thousands of well-wishing web-surfers have logged on to watch Shambo's lonely life in quarantine, via a live stream dubbed "Moo Tube."

Others accessed Shambo's blog to read his "thoughts of the day."

Brother Jamie, one of the monks who lives on the 115-acre monastery and tends to Shambo every day, told the BBC the monastery "had an awful lot of letters and phone calls of support from people we don't know — people who are not particularly religious but who appreciate we are making a stand for what we believe."

If the court decides on Thursday to kill Shambo, Brother Jamie said vets who arrive at the holy bull's hay-filled shrine will be met with worshippers praying and chanting around the shrine.

On its website, the Skanda Vale community argues that killing Shambo "would be an appalling desecration of life, the sanctity of our Temples and Hinduism as a whole." They have tried to make a case for treating Shambo with drugs and continuing to keep him isolated but alive, but under British law, animals suspected of carrying the disease must be slaughtered.

With files from the Associated Press