Thai officials expressed fear that buffalo, the backbone of Thailand’s agriculture, may become extinct as there are less than 1 million of them left in the country.
Yaowanit Bureerasksa, an officer from Sakhon Nakhon’s Department of Livestock Development, recently met with the agriculturists in the province’s Kham Pak Paew Village to encourage them to register their buffalos.
The aim of the project is to stop the illegal slaughter of female buffalo by embedding microchips in them to make them traceable. The agriculturists believe this initiative will significantly lower the number of buffalo being moved and sold illegally on the black market.The ability to monitor animal movement is also thought to minimize the risk of disease being transmitted among these animals.
Yaowanit expressed concern about the declining number of buffalo. “We are afraid they will become extinct because there are less than one million of them left.”
“We have to microchip them and encourage mating; otherwise, there would be a problem in the future,” she said.
The department will send experts to work with farmers to provide them with advice on how to better raise their herds.
So far, more than 90 percent of female buffalo in Sakho Nakhorn have been microchipped. The department has not yet reported the number of cows as their population is apparently not worrying, Matichon reported.
