CCTV keeps buffalo safe from thugs

Last Modified: 08 Jul 2008
Source: PA News

A water buffalo has been set up with its own CCTV system after being targeted by thugs, its owner explained.

Oink was once so attached to life in his field in Derby that he refused to leave and live at an animal sanctuary.

But worried owner Katherine Moore said the one-and-a-half tonne animal now dreads venturing out of its shed, a converted railway storage unit, after a mean-spirited series of attacks.

His hay was set on fire, bricks were thrown at him and mustard was added to his feed trough, said Mrs Moore.

However, news of the 15-year-old buffalo's troubles spread and offers of support rolled in.

Now, Oink, who is thought to have been saved from a slaughterhouse when a calf, is being monitored by his own surveillance camera network and has a website in his name.

Mrs Moore said: "It's been marvellous. I feel the weight of responsibility of looking after him is now being shared."

CCTV expert David Lakin approached Mrs Moore after learning about the attacks and installed several remote wireless cameras, a security light, which turns on at night, and movement sensors which activate a number of the cameras.

Software designer Mark Dixon, who set up his website, said: "I have got a seven-month-old son and I wanted him to see animals and I didn't know we had a water buffalo nearby. It pulled at my heart strings when I heard he had been attacked.

"It's disgusting. It's like they are trying to kill it off. Hopefully now they will get scared when they see how many people are interested in Oink's safety."

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