#OnlyInHongKong: Fantastic wild cattle & where to find them

A history of Hong Kong cattle

Hong Kong has an abundance of both native species and introduced fauna. Brown cattle (domestic ox or cattle, Bos taurus) and Asian water buffalo (Bubulus bubalis) were introduced in Hong Kong in the early twentieth century, used by the local rice farmers as draught animals to plough the rice fields. They were also brought in to produce milk for local dairy farms.

As Hong Kong experienced rapid economic growth in the twentieth century, the local agricultural industry declined. Rice fields made way for roads and high rises, and by the 1970s, rice production moved to the Mainland and the import of foreign grains became mainstream in our supermarkets. The brown cows and water buffalos were abandoned and left to roam the remaining pockets of nature. They soon adapted to life in the wild and continued to reproduce, resulting in our current “stray” bovine population of about 1,300 cows (according to numbers from the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department), with an annual population growth of 15 percent.

The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD) currently has a dedicated Cattle Management Team that aims to manage the wild bovine population to ensure our peaceful co-existence. The AFCD has also implemented the “Capture, Sterilisation, and Relocation” programme since 2011 to help stabilise the cattle population.

Prior to this programme, stray cattle that was reported as a nuisance would be sent to the slaughterhouse. Similar programmes are common practice overseas to mostly success: Under the programme, stray cattle are captured and assessed at AFCD centres, and only the healthy undergo surgical sterilisation. After their recovery from the desexing, they are ear-tagged for identification and tracking, then relocated to a country park to “minimise nuisance to the public.” The Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Animals (HKSPCA) also aids in carrying out field operations to tag and sterilise both male and female cows and buffalo.

The AFCD and HKSPCA work closely with community-run cattle protection groups like Sai Kung Buffalo Watch (SKBW) and Lantau Buffalo Association (LBA). Both groups were founded by neighbourhood locals advocating for responsible herd management and sustainable preservation of the cattle’s natural habitats. The cows are unignorable parts of Hong Kong’s natural heritage and the locals in these communities recognize that our co-existence with these animals come at a perilous balance as urban development brings us closer together despite the AFCD relocating them to more “remote” areas.

The two associations both have dedicated Facebook groups in order to better communicate sightings of lost or injured bovine, and educate the general public on what to do when sighting these lovely animals. The SKBW, in particular, has over 1,000 volunteers who proactively help to herd stray cattle off of highways and roads.

Where to find them

Tips when interacting with Hong Kong’s wild cattle

1. Don’t feed the cattle your unwanted grains and meats. Both the cattle and water buffalos are vegetarian, but with innocent tourists and locals attempting to take care of them more than they need, some have developed a taste for meat. You monsters! You can’t feed a cow beef! That’s cannibalism! They’re fine just eating grass!
2. Do not approach them if they seem uneasy or aggressive. Most of the time cattle in Hong Kong are calm and lazy, but they can get a little antsy around mating season or if they’ve been hurt.
3. Careful where you step, or you may find yourself feet deep in a dung patty.
4. If you’re driving in a cow-populated area, be sure to keep your eye out around bends and corners as the cattle are easily startled and may walk out into the road.
5. If you spot an injured cow or buffalo call the bovine protection groups or the AFCD directly, otherwise try to snap a pic of its ear tag (if it has one) and the injuries. Cows with the tags can be tracked via GPS.