Hong Kong bumps up against proliferating wild cows

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http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/01/01292002/ap_cows_46254.asp

 

Hong Kong bumps up against proliferating wild cows

 

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

By Dirk Beveridge, Associated Press

 

HONG KONG -- As one of the most congested places on

earth, it's no surprise that Hong Kong has problems

with traffic, pollution and property prices. But wild

cows?

 

In the countryside a short drive beyond the bright

lights and high-rise urban jumble, herds of stray cows

and water buffaloes have become a roaming nuisance.

 

" They come into the village and the children play with

them, " said a well-tanned country woman in the remote

Kam Tin area who gave her name as Mrs. Cheung.

 

" I think it's dangerous, " she said as she offered

roasted chicken, sausages and fruit to the god who

guards a small bridge. " The government should take

them away. "

 

The cattle sometimes barge in on family barbecues

looking for food, and that has given the Agriculture,

Fisheries and Conservation Department the idea for a

cattle sting operation -- a fake barbecue where animal

control officers would lie in wait for hungry cows.

 

" We are always looking for innovative ways to increase

the success rate of our capture operations, " said

spokeswoman Susanna Ho. However, this one is still on

the drawing board, she said.

 

Officers armed with tranquilizer dart guns rounded up

268 stray buffaloes and cows last year, and 270 in

2000, Ho said.

 

That leaves about 700 still out there, in wild herds

that are thriving -- and reproducing -- in at least

eight parts of Hong Kong's rural New Territories.

 

The cows aren't exactly prime, grain-fed specimens,

but they typically are sold to butchers for human

consumption, Ho said.

 

She said the cows create traffic hazards, cause

accidents, eat crops, trample gardens and foul roads

and footpaths.

 

In one sense, the animals are evidence of Hong Kong's

prosperity compared with some Asian nations, where a

water buffalo or cow would be big share of a family's

wealth.

 

But as Hong Kong has become a financial hub, many of

its farms have gone idle, leaving their livestock to

scavenge off the land.

 

One recent afternoon, more than three dozen water

buffaloes and a few cows stood around aimlessly or

wallowed in the mud in a Kam Tin field full of

stagnant puddles, litter and a big rusting storage

tank.

 

They looked well-fed and healthy, if not exactly

clean, perking up only slightly to take notice of two

visitors to their territory. They were bulky but agile

-- one water buffalo scratched its neck with a rear

hoof.

 

A 77-year-old woman who identified herself as Mrs. Au

said groups of up to a half dozen cows sometimes turn

up at a busy, populated intersection by the kiosk

where she sells snacks and soft drinks.

 

Traffic generally slows down, but some cows don't make

it across the road.

 

" About a year ago, I saw an injured cow lying in the

road after it was hit by a car, " Au said. " I think the

government should catch the cows, sell them and use

the money for the poor people. "

 

Few villagers seem ready to impose a death sentence on

the cows, but Hong Kong needs all the space it can

find for high-rise apartment blocks to house its

growing population of nearly 7 million.

 

Leung On-kwok pointed to a spot by his home where cows

block the road, and also a dung-filled vacant lot.

 

" I've complained to the police, " Leung said, but the

wild herd is still grazing away in the neighborhood.

 

Other people are more tolerant.

 

" Sometimes the water buffaloes block the road, but I

don't know of any crashes, " said taxi driver Tang

Yiu-ming. " They should just let them stay there. It's

no harm. "

 

Copyright 2002, Associated Press

 

 

 

 

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