ABOVE: Buffalo Conservation Community head Sombat Tamla-iat stands with Baiyok, the most handsome buffalo in Thailand. Photo: MCOT
Rapid disappearance of the buffalo has prompted a THB5.8 billion government protection fund to save the culturally significant animal.
Mostly raised on small farms as beasts of burden, buffalo have disappeared at an alarming rate during the past decade, prompting speculation they could all be gone within five years.
Nearly two million buffalo which lived in Thailand in 2000, a population which today is estimated to be fewer than 850,000.
As a stopgap measure, the junta-appointed cabinet has banned the slaughter and export of cows while plans are made to fund breeding projects, according to The Nation.
Related:
Most beautiful buffalo couple in Thailand revealed
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