[CPEO-MEF] Carabao seen as hazard

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Guam
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
Carabao seen as hazard
By Dionesis Tamondong, and Oyaol Ngirairikl
Saturday, August 23, 2003

An all-points bulletin was issued among mayors for George, who is about
3 to 4 feet tall, weighs more than 2,000 pounds and has two horns.

The adult carabao broke free from its handlers Wednesday after being
captured on the Naval Magazine as part of the adoption program of the
Department of Agriculture and village mayors.

Staffers from the Agana Heights mayor's office took the sedated carabao
they named George to an area in the Fonte River Valley, said Agana
Heights Mayor Paul McDonald. But the sedative apparently wore off.

"We were trying to bring it out of the trailer, but it broke the trailer
door open and its rope snapped, then it took off," McDonald said. "It
was last seen roaming in the direction of Nimitz Hill. It's probably
heading back to its home in Santa Rita."

Although no one was injured, McDonald said the incident raises issues of
safety for the community, particularly among residents who want to adopt
or have adopted the water buffaloes.

Safety and health concerns were some of the major issues discussed
during a meeting yesterday of Navy and Department of Agriculture
officials and mayors.

Joaquin Perez, district director for Delegate Madeleine Bordallo's
office, coordinated the public meeting in hopes of resolving the
controversy prompted by the Navy's decision to shoot the carabao.

Navy officials have said killing carabao is necessary because other
methods used to curb their population -- contraception and adopting them
out to the community -- have been inadequate in controlling the herd's
size. About 250 carabao that roam the Naval Ordnance Magazine present
both health and environmental risks, and impair the ability of Navy
personnel on the magazine to adequately perform their mission, Navy
officials have said.

The Navy this week recently allowed agriculture department officials
more access to the base to capture the animals for adoption. Hundreds of
residents are on waiting lists to adopt the beasts.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20030823/localnews/111507.html

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