Pink buffalo have caught the eye of sacrificial animal buyers in Ishwardi, Pabna. Several farms next to the Aronkola market in the municipal area have pink buffalo this time, and buyers are coming from far away to buy them. Many are buying pink buffalo after seeing them online. Buffalo of this colour are rare in the country.

Farms at Aronkola have been raising pink buffalo for about three or four years, but this is the first time they are being sold for Qurbani. Buyers are crowding the farms to see this rare type of buffalo.

Shamim Hossain, owner of Mama Krishi Farm at Aronkola, said he bought two pink buffalo calves at the Aronkola market three and a half years ago for Tk 2 lakh 50 thousand. He does not know the breed. He has sold the two buffalo for Tk 9.5 lakh.

He said the buffalo are as calm as black buffalo, with no difference in diet: they eat whatever other buffalo eat. Because of their pink colour, they are more valued by buyers.

Mahabubul Alam Alo, owner of Alo Dairy Farm at Aronkola, said his farm has two pink buffalo that he will sell at this Qurbani. Buyers come and bargain every day, and many come out of curiosity to see them. They could be sold at any moment, he said.

Golam Kibria Sohan, owner of One Stop Cattle Ranch Dairy Farm at Aronkola, has been raising pink buffalo for three and a half years. He told Jago News that several had already been sold and two were left, which were also being bargained over.

"The 14-maund buffalo has been bargained at five lakh taka. Someone has offered four and a half lakh for the other pink buffalo. The two will be sold within a day or so," Golam Kibria Sohan added.

Dr Kazi Ashraful Islam, deputy director of the Artificial Insemination Centre in Ishwardi, told Jago News that such buffalo are usually brought into the country from Myanmar, Thailand and India, and many people keep two or four as a hobby.

"These buffalo are not yet raised commercially. No one has ever come to ask about their breed or breeding. They seem to be more valued because of their pink colour," he said.

Professor Omar Faruk, consultant to the Buffalo Development Project (Phase 2) of the Department of Livestock Services, told Jago News that pink or white buffalo are more commonly seen in the wetland areas of Myanmar and come into the country through Teknaf in Cox's Bazar. Their pink colour makes them look quite beautiful, so demand for them among Qurbani buyers seems higher. Their meat is very tasty and wholesome, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.