Yunlin, Aug. 12 (CNA) A retiring Yunlin farmer drove his 12-year-old water buffalo to an animal sanctuary on Friday, sparing his long-time farming partner from the slaughterhouse in the process.
Huang Sung-yung (???), the owner of the last water buffalo in Yunlin County’s Huwei Township, recently retired after spending around 50 years working the fields using traditional draft animals.
With water buffalo having served him so well over the last half-century, Huang, 74, thought his final farming partner had earned a well-deserved retirement and began looking for an animal sanctuary for her to live out the rest of her days.
Through the help of the Huwei Township Office and Chen Chun-chi (???), the head of Beixi Village, Huang was altered to a water buffalo sanctuary in nearby Tuku Township.
Water buffalo were once ubiquitous on Taiwan’s farms — the island was home to 329,928 of the animals in 1956 — but their numbers have dwindled with mechanization. By 2021, only 199 were left, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Animals replaced by machines were once almost certainly destined for the slaughterhouse.
But the past few years have seen the establishment of several private and local authority-run water buffalo sanctuaries as a more humane retirement option.
Huang’s buffalo will be joined at the sanctuary in Tuku Township by two other residents — 9-year-old “An Hsin” (??) and 14-year-old “A Le” (??).
Lin Chia-liang (???), the shelter’s owner, told CNA he set up the sanctuary on his family farm in 2022.
Explaining his reasons for opening the shelter, Lin said water buffalo had made a huge contribution to agriculture in Taiwan and deserved to spend the rest of their lives in a comfortable environment.
For the water buffalo at the shelter, there is a large piece of land where they can wander around and eat grass and corn stalks, and there is also a pond that Lin said he dug for them to cool off in the scorching summer heat.
Lin added that former owners of the water buffalo are always welcome to visit and the shelter is also open to visitors who can come to see and feed the animals.
Lin said he also grows and sells rice to cover the cost of taking care of the retired water buffalo.
Speaking of the new resident of the shelter, Lin said it will be tethered as of now for safety purposes, and the ropes will be removed one or two months later after it gets used to its 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.”
