Plan to introduce Bali cattle breed to Sabah

SERIAN: Agriculture Department officials from Semporna, Sabah are looking into the possibility of bringing the Bali cattle breed over to their state.

Leading a delegation from the department in Semporna on a study tour of the state, Agriculture Officer (AO) Abd Samat Injau said he was impressed by how well the breed was doing at the Serian Bali cattle farm.

“It’s amazing that the cattle can thrive under local conditions. I’m thinking of introducing this breed to cattle farmers back in Semporna or import them myself,” Abd Samat said. He said cattle rearing in Sabah and Sarawak had great potential though certain breeds cannot survive well under local conditions.

“In Sabah the demand for sacrificial meat during Hari Raya Korban is very high and I think it’s the same in Sarawak. The shortage of supply during this period is the reason cattle can fetch RM5,000 to RM6,000 per head,” Abd Samat said during a visit to the Bali cattle farm owned by Cr Sunny Kon here yesterday.

Briefing the 18-member delegation, Kon said he was ready to share his experience in Bali cattle rearing with anyone interested.

“I started rearing Bali cattle as a hobby about 10 years ago with less than 10 heads, which have multiplied to more than 100 today,” he said. Kon said the species scientifically known as Bos javanicus was easy to rear, as being wild, they could survive on almost anything.

“We just release them to graze by themselves. We don’t provide them with pellets or additional nutrition yet they stay healthy,” he said. Kon has not sold any of the cattle to allow them to multiply.

“My plan is to breed as many as possible before passing down the breed to anyone interested,” he said. However his cattle cannot multiply fast enough as his farm is only 10 acres, otherwise he could have started supplying the species to interested local farmers.

Samarahan Assistant Veterinary Officer Parag Kawah who turned up for the study trip said Kon was the only known successful Bali cattle breeder in the state so far, but Kon’s farm did not have enough space to speed up growth of the herd.

Parag would like to make recommendations to the Agriculture Ministry to encourage Bali cattle breeding so the state would not be overly dependent on imported meat. He said Bali cattle would be the best substitute for imported frozen meat but the state government and local community had to increase the scale of breeding. Bali cattle farms can also become important eco-tourism products.

“I believe many animal lovers would like to visit the farms but proper facilities must be there,” Parag said. Other visitors at the farm yesterday were two Serian District Council (SDC) councillors Senior William Rade and Lawas Musan.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/04/23/plan-to-introduce-bali-cattle-breed-to-sabah/#ixzz3Y5cmzqjs