Buffalo holder Bert Meems from Onstwedde has been dreaming of the road from Onstwedde to Winschoten since Monday. Twice his young water buffaloes escaped from a meadow, whereupon he was alerted and drove to Winschoten as fast as an arrow.
No, Bert Meems is not waiting for this. As a cattle farmer, he once had to deal with escaped cows, but chasing water buffaloes twice in one day after his young males is new. “They ran right through electric fence. Just say why? We do not know. Fortunately, there were no accidents, because they ran on a busy road. It could have ended differently.”
Meems cannot bear to think that his water buffalo had fallen into nearby Pekela Aa. “The fire service should have been involved. Or what if they had ended up in the pond at Old Wolde.” Now one of the water buffaloes was lying peacefully in the tall grass along the bike path near the nursing home, surrounded by police officers who had been summoned.
Meems does not understand that road users have not stopped to catch the buffaloes, or at least to stop them. “If you see something like that, don’t you stop and try to catch the animals? There is always someone passing by who has a little knowledge of animals. However? No, they are not dangerous, even though they have horns.”
Direction the center of Winschoten
Monday morning Bert also had to travel to Winschoten, because two water buffaloes had escaped. Once back in their pasture near the Hoogebrug, the border of Winschoten and Blijham, he dared to drive back to Onstwedde. But in the afternoon he received another phone call saying; your water buffaloes walk towards the center of Winschoten. “It remains a mystery why they ran right through the power wire. Fortunately they were not injured. Let’s just hope I don’t get another call. If I have not heard anything after two hours, they remain safe in the pasture.”
Bert Meems has had a buffalo farm in Onstwedde since October 2020. The milk is used for mozzarella. First the milk went to Italy, then to Belgium and since a while the milk ends up in Ittervoort in Limburg. Meems now owns 140 water buffaloes. “That’s enough for the first time.” He keeps most of the animals at his farm in Onstwedde, but there are also animals in surrounding places. Like in Winschoten. At least, if they don’t escape.