To whom resident of Shui Hau village!

[ho loy]

Dear All,

I am Loy running the cattle hotline service on behalf of LBA , wishing you another successful and happy New Year in 2009.

For your interest, LBA received a complaint forward by Agricultural and Fisherise Conservation Department (AFCD) that a Shui Hau resident is complaining some cattle fece problem in the village. I had immediately spoken to village head Mr. Chan and Dr. Joe(who live within the complain area) in relating the complain. Reply stressed that it sound like new comer to the village who are not used to rural environment since the public space of the village is being cleaned everyday. Animals herd in Shui Hau are peaceful toward human.

I also requested to Ms Elsa Tong, the personnel who forward the complain on behalf of AFCD who refused to expose the contact of complain,but only a rough idea of area the complain wished to address. It was said to any area in between village house No 1 to 10, without much information. But Ms Tong did mention cattle feces was mentioned in the complain. The query is leading LBA in extreme difficult situation to obtain information of front line situation to tackle the problem as we don't event know if the complain actually exist. I therefor feel sorry but if you might allow me to humbly request for your assistance to monitor on public area of Shui Hau village house from No 1 to 10. Please call 9120 6017 immediately, if you find anything abnormal happening in between the human and animal.


Thank you so very much for your help and attention. Happy New Year,


Loy

[Meigom]

Hi Loy,

Thank you for your info regarding the cows that live along the area of Shui Hau. As you know, and for anyone who doesn't, the cows move along South Lantau Road, some stopping for the night in Tong Fuk, some in Cheung Sha, and some in Shui Hau.

Like all animals, since they need to live they need to eat, which necessitates them getting rid of the waste like all animals, people included. Poop is a part of life, and people need to grow up and stop complaining about.

Why don't people save their complaints for something that requires action, such as animal abuse. If more people spoke up for animals rather than against them, it would lead to better harmony in society.

So for anyone reading this who doesn't like the cow poop - what if you lived outdoors 24/7? Where would you go to excrete your waste?

But a thank you to people like Loy who actually do care and do try.

Megaen
Shui Hau Resident
Lantau cow and water buffalo lover

[Buffalo Bill]

More worryingly is that the AFCD would treat this as a complaint!

Anyone going to call them up and complain that the fish are soiling in the sea around the Cheung Sha beach area?

[Meigom]

Sadly, this is not the first complaint about cow poop.

It was a complaint before that lead the AFCD to round up the poor cows in Mui Wo that subsequently died on the way to wherever they were being cruelly transported.

[ho loy]

Hi Megaen,

Thank you so much for your encouraging support.

Indeed, I remember the Mui Wo animal relocation action of AFCD just too well, as it was the first time got me fully involved in animal right battle against such ignorance official department. My first time step into Legco chamber to witness how Legislative Councilors to review the Animal Cruelty Ordinance and push the punishment up with the work of mins and friends with their photos, video films clips who followed the AFCD on that day and tried so hard to stop them from what they were doing to the animal. But AFCD was just arrogant enough to ignor our friends actually recording them the whole journey. Full page covery in local chinese newspaper. Friends in town also set up a protest against them. I remembered so well how disgusted those Legco councilors were after they readed the story. The ordinance review was approved by full vote in no time becasue AFCD could not deny any of the complaint exposed by our materials.

That case also leaded me devoted into helping LBA, since there had nobody speaking in Chinese locally on Lantau inside LBA apart from Winnie, the secretary of the Association whom we had come good friend afterward but she lives in Sai Kung. Winnie did so much work to push the promotion of buffalo conservation in Hong Kong and was trying very hard to find a piece of land for the buffalo kept together. I witness her hardworking but eventually I realized it was not a right way to protect the animal by removing them away from they belong to. We should not give the land and environment to people who has no care of how other to live. If the animal was removed, everything else will follow. The animal should be preserved as where they were found.

There after, also the very well known Shap Long herd culling incident in 2007. 16 out of 17 water buffaloes were killed in AFCD's vet hand. Only realized after I found out only one animal was sent to AFCD animal center, that the day duty of the vet was to make sure all the animals couldn't wake up and went straight to the landfill in the evening. So no animals would be stressed , nobody would be charged for ‘Animal Cruelty’ because they were all dead.

Life was quite a miracle, the evil plan of the AFCD vet did not work out all perfectly. One young bull was strong enough to survive from the killing drug and woke up in time before they dumped the bodies. So he ended up in Sheung Shui Animal Centre.

So many of our friends involved in that rescue action. It took me 4 weeks from the day tracking where the animals were taken, to bringing the survivor back to Lantau. It was an unspoken order at that time on Lantau warning most of transport service driver that nobody allowed to take my order to bring the buffalo back, or they would have no business from their agent onward. Can you imagine how intense the battle was at that time?

Lucky that friend in New Territory who had let me to keep the buffalo in their village for a short time until I found a solution to bring him back to Lantau. It was quite a costy action, but we managed to bring the animal home. The evening was heavy and complicate for us to witnessing the boy return home without his family. Until today, the pain of that Mui Wo dead cow and the Shap Long boy came home to a strange place is still with me.

So please remeber to keep eyes on the animals. Always keep a camera in hand ready to take down whatever is suspicious, and call me, as well as 999 immediately if you see anyone trying to hurt the animal, any animal at all. They are part of our community, part of Lantau.

All the best for you and your family.


Loy xxx

[Meigom]

Dear Loy,

Thank you very much for your efforts for the cows and water buffalo on Lantau. I wish more people were enlightened like yourself.

I actually hadn't heard about the Shap Long incident, so I'm glad you told me about it.

That actually brings up another problem in Hong Kong - the lack of caring, quality vets. That a vet, an animal 'doctor' would instead act as an animal executioner, putting down healthy active animals, is truly a crime.

While extremely sad, I'm not surprised, as I've had so many bad experiences with different vets in Hong Kong.

I do hope that people can get over their prejudice about the cows and water buffalo and just let them be. It's people like you and your other friends who are making a difference, so even if it seems like you are alone, you aren't. You have your supporters, like me, in the community.

God bless you for your good work,

Megaen

[Buffalo Bill]

The vet involved in the Shap Long incident was a 'Dr' Michael Huang of the AFCD.

I had the displeasure of meeting with him on one occasion and not a pleasant experience.

Fortunately it looks like the Shap Long herd has recovered well with around 16 or so in the fields at the moment.

[Meigom]

Thanks for the update on the Shap Long water buffalo herd. I hope they can continue to live a long time unbothered...

[ho loy]

Dear Megaen,

Are you on our LBA volunteering list. If yes, would you be interested to talk to the Shui Hau cow complainer on Monday as a volunteering member of LBA, which AFCD got the complainer's premission for our member to talk to them directly.

Would you mind to email me at lantaubovine@gmail.com if you would like to do that ?

Thanks


Loy

[Meigom]

Hi Loy,

I sent you an email. Please check.

Megaen