A retiring farmer in Yunlin County on Friday drove his 12-year-old water buffalo to an animal sanctuary, sparing his long-time farming partner from the slaughterhouse.
Huang Sung-yung (黃松勇), the owner of the last water buffalo in Huwei Township (虎尾), retired after about 50 years working the fields using traditional draft animals.
With water buffalo having served him so well over the past half-century, Huang, 74, said that his final farming partner had earned a well-deserved retirement, so he began looking for an animal sanctuary for her to live out the rest of her days.
Photo: Lin Min-chen, Taipei Times
With the help of the Huwei Township Office and Beisi Village (北溪) Warden Chen Chun-chi (陳俊旗), Huang found a water buffalo sanctuary in nearby Tuku Township (土庫).
Water buffalo were once ubiquitous on Taiwan’s farms, with the nation having 329,928 of the animals in 1956, but their numbers have dwindled with mechanization.
In 2021, only 199 were left, Ministry of Agriculture data showed.
Animals replaced by machines were once almost certainly destined for the slaughterhouse, but several water buffalo sanctuaries, run privately or by local authorities, have been established over the past few years, offering a more humane retirement option.
Huang’s buffalo is to share the sanctuary with two other residents — nine-year-old An Hsin (安心) and 14-year-old A Le (阿樂).
Lin Chia-liang (林佳良) said he set up the sanctuary on his family farm last year.
Water buffalo made a huge contribution to agriculture in Taiwan and deserve to spend the rest of their lives in a comfortable environment, Lin said.
The animals at the shelter have a large field where they can wander, and eat grass and corn stalks, Lin said, adding that he dug a pond for them to cool off in when the temperature rises.
Former owners of the water buffalo are always welcome to visit and the shelter is also open to visitors, who can feed the animals, he said.
Lin said he also grows and sells rice to cover the cost of taking care of the retired water buffalo.
He said that the new resident would be tethered for a while for safety purposes and the ropes would be removed after one or two months when she gets used to her new home.
Patting his former farming partner on the back, Huang left his water buffalo with a few words of encouragement.
“You won’t be alone here. Go and enjoy your retirement,” he said.
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