URDANETA CITY — Soon, children will no longer see carabaos, the country’s national animal and farmers’ bestfriend, in the fields and their vanishing number is now alarming, according to a Pangasinan mayor.
Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. of this city with the biggest cattle market in the Philippines, told local newsmen that carabaos are now becoming extinct and the National Government should take the initiative to preserve them.
“If you will look around you, carabaos are already nowhere in sight. They’re becoming passe,” he said.
In their own cattle market, Perez sad there has been an 80-percent the drop in the number of carabaos traded. This has been the situation for 10 years now and the depletion is continuing, he added.
“It’s now becoming alarming,” Perez said.
“Now, for every 10 cows, you see only one or no carabao at all”, he added.
Also, he noted that in the past, there were carabaos from western part of Pangasinan traded here but now if ever there are, these come from Abra or in region 2.
Out of the 800 heads of cattle a week traded in their market, only five percent accounts for carabaos, the mayor added.
In the past, even during ordinary cattle market days, Perez said there were around 1,800 cattles traded here.
“Give it five or six years more, you can count in your fingers the carabaos you will see,” he said.
He said this matter should be given priority by the National Government.
Except for areas in Central Luzon that produce carabao milk, practically almost all farmers are now using mechanized hand tractor or the kuliglig in plowing the fields, he said.
Perez said to a poor man, lots of them depend on carabeef which is the cheapest yet very delicious, even better than beef or pork.
“Yan ang nakakabahala pag nawala na ang kalabaw sa atin (That’s worrisome if carabaos are no longer with us),” he said.