Category: Cattle & Buffalo
Lantau rural chiefs defy govt with plan to oust cattle and buffalo
The ink is barely dry on the government’s long-term Lantau development plan, but one of its core principles is under challenge from rural chiefs in their latest attempt to expel cattle and buffalo.
The Sustainable Lantau Blueprint, issued in June, calls for the conservation of rural Lantau’s natural and cultural heritage.
It specifically demands the protection of the Pui O wetland, home to the local buffalo herd, which it acknowledges as as “part of [Pui O’s] cultural history” and an important means of showcasing Hong Kong’s rural history. It also seeks the preservation of Mui Wo’s “rural township character.”
However, the Islands District Council and local rural committees are once again lobbying the AFCD to remove Lantau’s remaining cattle and buffalo.
This time their plan is to shift them to Tai A Chau, an island in the Sokos with limited water supplies and no wetland that could support buffalo.
Despite this, the AFCD cattle team is understood to have told an October 12 meeting that the plan was feasible. However, they also said the idea was not practical because there was no way for them staff to conveniently reach the remote location.
The meeting, organized by the Islands District Council, was attended by Wong Man-hong and Fan Chi-ping – the heads respectively of the Mui Wo and Tung Chung rural committees – a member of the South Lantao Rural Committee, district councillor Randy Yu, LanDAC member Chau Cheun Heung, Bui O Public School principal Yu Mei Fong, Home Affairs Department officials and four representatives from cattle support groups.
One attendee told Lantau News the rural leaders argued that the move was necessary for safety reasons, although they were unable to explain why the buffalo posed a bigger safety threat than speeding traffic on EVA.
Despite the AFCD reservations, the rural councillors and Randy Yu urged the AFCD to go ahead with a trial.
The current effort to remove Lantau’s bovines is the latest of many.
In one notorious case in 2006, several dozen cattle were removed byAFCD truck to Fan Lau, but only three survived the journey.
In 2013, the AFCD experimented by swapping cattle herds between South Lantau and Sai Kung. One of the Lantau cattle died and many of the remainder, unable to food in the unfamiliar environment, had to be hand-fed. The trial was terminated after the department was hauled before a Legco sub-committee.
In the last two years the plan to remove the animals to Tai A Chau has emerged on a number of occasions, only for the government in each instance to deny it.
An online petition opposing the relocation states:
We believe that Lantau Island has absolutely sufficient capacity for the conservation of all cows and buffaloes. Any form of relocation out of Lantau Island is not needed. In addition, we demand the government to establish a long-term conservation policy, allocating resources to conserve them in their original habitats.
Buffalo photo comp: And the winner is….
Natasha Ramsey’s captivating buffalo portrait has taken out first prize in the Amazing Bovid of Lantau photo competition.
Her winning photo of a buffalo at Cheung Sha garnered 95 votes in the final round of the competition to take out the prize.
Look into my soul (Natasha Ramsey)
The competition, organised by the LBA attracted nearly 100 entries.
For a look at the six photos that made it through to the final, go here.
Hurry! The Amazing Bovid of Lantau competition is down to these six photos
Only 24 hours and two contestants remain in the LBA Amazing Bovid of Lantau Photo Contest.
Two local photographers, Mink Chan and Natasha Ramsey, took all of the six photos that made it through to the last round – been chosen by a combination of popular vote and judging panel.
The very last round, to be concluded Tuesday midnight, is another round of public voting.
You can go to here to cast your vote – and if your favourite photo wins your name will go in the draw to win a number of prizes donated by sponsors including LUSH, the Water Buffalo and Garden Plus Cafe.
Altogether contestants sent in nearly 100 photos of cattle and buffalo to the Lantau Buffalo Association Facebook page.
The winning photographer will be awarded a prize from LUSH and $1000 cash donated by the Living Islands Movement.
Enjoy LOVE (Mink Chan)
Look into my soul (Natasha Ramsey)
Harmony Life (Mink Chan)
Mother touch (Natasha Ramsey)
Kiss (Mink Chan)
Piggy back (Natasha Ramsey)
Buffalo photo contest now open for voting
Online voting is now open for ‘The Amazing Bovid of Lantau’ photo competition.
Cattle and buffalo lovers can go here to cast their votes on the 89 photos entered into the contest. Voting closes at midnight on Saturday, Oct 7.
The 20 photos that receive the most Facebook Likes, Reactions, Comments or Shares will win the first round of the contest to enter the second round for the five Judges’ Choice Award categories and the three Artistic Award categories.
A final round of voting will determine the Champion.
Voters who take part in the poll will have a chance to win a gift from handmade cosmetics firm LUSH HK.
Lush Garden Cafe and The Water Buffalo Bar & Restaurant are sponsors of the contest, which is organised by the Lantau Buffalo Association.
The judging panel, chaired by environmental photographer Martin Williams, along with cultural photographer Ducky Tse Chi Tak and Lantau News Editor Robert Clark.
Two days to go for Lantau buffalo photo comp
Entries close Saturday for the ‘Amazing bovid of Lantau’ photo contest, organised by the Lantau Buffalo Association.
Hong Kong today has just 120 water buffaloes and about 2000 cattle, the LBA says.
“Lantau is now one of the rare places where we can experience the harmonious relationship between humans and bovids.”
The competition is an opportunity for people to share their special moments with the island’s buffalo and cattle.
The first 100 entrants will receive a gift from Lush. Final deadline is midnight Saturday, September 23.
For details, go to the LBA Facebook page.
Police seek blue taxi over Shui Hau hit-and-run
Police suspect a Lantau taxi was involved in a hit-and-run accident at Shui Hau early today that killed a cow.
They are interviewing a cab driver in relation to the incident. They believe the taxi has been taken to a Cheung Sha Wan garage for repair.
They also seek three passengers believed to have taken a cab from Tai O to Tung Chung between 2:00 to 4:00 am today.
A female cow died on the road between Shui Hau and Tong Fuk in the early hours this morning.
Police arriving at the scene at 4:15am found the animal (no 228) had died and the driver had fled. They found fragments of a vehicle indicator light on the road and are calling for public assistance.
It is the second time in less than two weeks that a vehicle has struck a cow at that location, approximately a kilometre west of Tong Fuk.
The Lantau Buffalo Association and members are offering HK$5000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the driver responsible for the death.
They are calling for passengers in the cab, or other witnesses, to come forward.
Anyone with information about the incident can call New Territories South Traffic Investigations Team on 36611300, Lantau traffic police on 36612780 or LBA Hotline on 81036312.
How to safely share the road with Lantau cattle and buffalo
Two nights ago a female cow was struck by a car on South Lantau Road.
Fortunately she suffered no more than abrasions and should quickly make a full recovery. Others have not been so lucky.
According to the Lantau Buffalo Association (LBA) three bovines have died on local roads since the beginning of last year – two adults and one calf. Last month a bull died after being struck by an unknown vehicle at Shap Sze Tung near Sai Kung.
The three worst blackspots are the South Lantau section of Tung Chung Road, the bend at Cheung Sha by the police station and South Lantau Road near the Shui Hau football pitch.
Cow 658: Lightly injured after being struck near Tong Fuk on Wednesday night
If you are a driver on Lantau roads, you must be cattle-aware. This means observing the speed limit, approaching bends and blind spots cautiously and having some familiarity with their behaviour.
Bovines are not fast and skittish animals – they will not jump out in front of traffic. But you must be aware that you may encounter one on the road suddenly when you round a bend.
You should also be alert to local cattle moving to or from their overnight shelter late in the afternoon or early mornings.
If you are an experienced local driver, you most likely have already adopted these practices. Police and LBA data suggest that a high proportion of accidents involve drivers inexperienced in Lantau conditions – the narrow roads, the slower speeds and the cattle movements are not found in the rest of Hong Kong.
If you are involved in an accident with a cattle or buffalo, you must remain at the scene and render assistance, just as you would if you had hit a human pedestrian. Leaving the scene could incur up to 12 months’ jail time and a $10,000 fine.
As with any other accident you should call the police.
Cow 92: Struck near Cheung Sha police station in January 2016, breaking her rear leg. Had to be put down by AFCD vet.
If the animal is injured, you should also call one of the local cattle groups (see below). They or the police can call the AFCD Cattle Team, which can provide professional assistance. It can take more than an hour for them to arrive, however. Local groups can assist in the meantime in making an early assessment of the injured animal and providing some basic aid.
Remember that often after an accident an injured animal may wander away. You can assist by watching and if necessary following the animal – often they may stray into the bushes at the side of the road and become hard to find. Do not assume that the animal is unhurt because it is walking.
If you are a passenger or a passer-by this also applies – you can help by observing the injured animal until the vet arrives.
Our bovine populations are one of Lantau’s treasures – be sure you make room for them on the road.
Contact numbers
LBA Rescue Hotline: 8103 6312
PALS: 9197 4371
SPCA: 2984 0060
Tai O Community Cattle Group: 5181 4406
Buffalo back in Tung Chung after 30 years
A young water buffalo has relocated himself to Tung Chung valley – the first in the region for three decades.
He was spotted last week by LBA members near Shek Mun Kap. LBA chair Ho Loy said the buffalo, who is four or five years old, was a shy male who had been chased away from the Ham Tin herd.
But there is no wetland suitable for buffalo, and no other buffalo, in the area, so Ho has proposed returning him to the Shui Hau wetland, where one of the big bulls passed away three years ago. “There’s no point in sending him back to Pui O,” she said.
The AFCD cattle team says he will be difficult to capture if he is in forest or near villages, but are happy to catch and relocate him if he gets near a road or is a threat to traffic or his own safety.
Prior to development in the late 1980s, Tung Chung had for centuries been a farming and fishing settlement with a regular population of buffalo that were used as work animals.
We can see Tung Chung’s last buffalo in this RTHK 1988 documentary on Tung Chung’s last farms. It in Cantonese but we can see buffalo helping in the sowing and harvesting at 2:18 and 6:39.
LanDAC: Develop Lantau, but conserve the airport and Macau bridge
In its final work report LanDAC, the government’s Lantau advisory committee, urges stronger conservation protection, but proposes new road and rail links through a country park and affirms support for the massive East Lantau Metropolis (ELM) plan.
The committee offers no support for protecting the island’s threatened wetlands, its buffalo and cattle herds or the shrinking Chinese white dolphin population. Incredibly, however, among those items it does regard as worthy of conservation are the airport, Ngong Ping 360 and the yet-to-be-completed Hong Kong-Macau Bridge. These are significant for “landscape conservation,” the report says.
Heritage item
Lantau Confidential 