Overview
- The Interior Ministry ordered the nearly 700-kilogram albino buffalo spared on Wednesday and instructed that the buyer be refunded after public attention swelled.
- The animal had been sold for ritual slaughter for the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha before viral photos and videos drew hundreds of visitors to a farm near Dhaka.
- Police and livestock authorities took the buffalo into protective custody because the crowds raised safety and security concerns for the site and the animal.
- The National Zoo in Dhaka received the buffalo, assigned a keeper and put it into a two-week quarantine, with officials saying the animal’s permanent status will be decided later.
- Reporting differs on which minister personally intervened or bought the animal, and the case raises questions about how authorities will handle future animals that attract large public attention.