(CN - HK) Government buffalo slaughter

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South China Morning Post

Wednesday April 4 2007

16 buffaloes die while being moved from Lantau

by Celine Sun

 

Activists have launched a campaign to save a lone buffalo - the only

survivor from a herd of 17 moved by government workers from Lantau to

Sheung Shui last week.

 

The roundup of the buffaloes at Pui O on Tuesday followed complaints

about the animals, which are strongly supported by local

conservationists but regarded as a menace by villagers who say they

break down fences and endanger humans.

 

A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation

Department said the catchers had picked out weak, sick and aggressive

buffaloes, but only one survived the long trip to the government-run

animal management centre.

 

He said a notice would be published to see if anyone wanted to claim

the remaining one.

 

Ho Loy said she and other activists were seeking ways to adopt the

buffalo before it was sold to a slaughterhouse or put down.

 

'We are looking for some local villager who is qualified and willing

to adopt the animal, which is the only way for it to escape from

being killed,' said Ms Ho, director of the Lantau Post.

 

She also questioned the reason given for the deaths. 'We suspect the

officers injected them with excessive amounts of tranquillisers, or

the animals were just too frightened.'

 

The number of Lantau buffaloes, descended from a few abandoned farm

animals, has grown to more than 100. Residents say they have become a

nuisance, eating crops and posing a threat to human safety when

running or fighting. Last year, a man was seriously injured by a

running buffalo.

 

But Sung Wai-yuk, a member of the Lantau Buffalo Organisation, said

the animals played an important role in the local ecology.

 

'If there were no buffaloes, grass would grow much faster in the

wetlands, providing an ideal place for mosquitoes to breed,' she said.

 

The group had tried to persuade mainland authorities to see if they

could be transported to countryside across the border but the idea

was turned down.

 

'We are calling on the government to sterilise these animals instead

of killing them,' she said. 'We also suggest the Tourism Board create

a conservation centre.'

 

 

Thursday April 5 2007

Still no home for buffalo to roam

by Celine Sun

 

A lone buffalo - the only survivor from a herd of 17 moved by

government workers from Lantau to Sheung Shui last week - has yet to

be claimed before it is sold to a slaughterhouse or put down. Ho Loy,

director of the Lantau Post and a buffalo conservationist, said

activists were seeking the help of a Lantau villager to claim the

buffalo. 'It is not easy to find such a person,' said Ms Ho, adding

that most villagers were afraid of the problems such an adoption

might cause. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

said it would publish a notice in its official gazette for someone to

claim the animal within seven days.