Reverse wing pouters, St Bernards, ostriches show off their brains, beef and beauty at show

The animal parade is schedu­led for 4 pm today at the Expo Centre.

KARACHI:

Don’t get close to that goat - he attacks, cried the herder to a startled child who had just realised that goats were not the helpless creatures that ended up on his plate.

Goats, cows, buffaloes, camels, hens, and every possible variation of cattle and poultry dotted the Expo Centre, turning it into a pastoral playground for the second edition of the annual livestock, dairy, fisheries and poultry seminar and exhibition organised by the Sindh Board of Investment.

At a stone’s throw away from the Komri family’s temperamental goat, people were bobbing their heads up and down, craning their necks to get a good look at a group of ostriches. One of the more unfortunate and probably ill-behaved ostriches was forced to wear a hood over its head like a terrorism suspect – an analogy driven home by a large blanket with the American flag next to it. “We import them from Australia and have about 600 birds at our farm in Maymar,” said Noor Noreen, a marketing executive from the Pakistan Ostrich Company. “Their meat tastes just like mutton.”

The company claims ostrich meat is lower in fat and cholesterol as compared to other meat and is helpful for people with heart, prostate and weight problems. The hide is used to make leather only comparable to crocodile or snake skin. An eight- to 12-month-old ostrich’s hide is approximately 14 sq. feet and is valued at Rs16,000. They said that ostrich oil helps relax muscles too. Their tendons can be used for ophthalmological procedures. It is possible that the next time you buy a duster to clean your house, it could be made from an ostrich because their feathers are excellent at attracting and holding dust.

The same tent also housed an impressive pair of heavy golden buff hens with their chests puffed out. Imran, the owner, said that he kept the chickens as a hobby. He breeds hens, peacocks, parrots, cats, Polish hens. He also brought a monkey to the event to attract the crowd. Indeed, many farmers from different parts of the province had brought their animals to show off and not necessarily to sell. However, Mohammad Kamran had come to cultivate potential clients for what he called ‘organic’ livestock.  “They are not fed anything unnatural so no steroid injections, nothing artificial and their meat is good,” said Kamran. “I come here mostly to meet people who will visit my farm to purchase directly from the source.”

A new addition to this year’s exhibition was the pet and dog show which pulled in a big crowd of adoring children crowding otherwise ferocious dogs twice their size. Sam, the St Bernard, nearly four foot tall, was the star, with the children taking turns to hug and take pictures with him.  The owner Alizeh Habib also brought Collie puppies and German Shepherds. “I bring them out to show people that this stigma against dogs is wrong and that they are friendly,” she said.

Ali Chottani brought his Rottweilers to the show. They inspired fear and awe from the audience as everyone who passed by created an imaginary wall between them and the canine. “Rottweilers are the best breed because they’re robust, loyal,” he said. “They can be used for many different things like K-9 services, rehabilitation, sniffing dogs or as guard dogs.” Next to the dogs was a collection of pigeons but not the type that help create mottled city landscapes.

These pigeons were reminiscent of ‘Flappers’ in the ‘Roaring Twenties’ in America. The reverse wing pouters had extravagant feathers around their feet that made them look like they were wearing mink boots and as the name suggests, their wings looked like they had been put on backwards. The Bukhari trumpeters had a crown of feathers which looked like party hats from the early 20th century. Inside the Expo Centre, the exhibition halls were filled with farming machinery and fisheries exhibitions. One of the organisers, Younus Dagha, the director general of the Sindh Investment Board, said that they claim to be seventh largest in agriculture in the world but out of the $280 billion food market, Pakistan probably barely makes up less than one per cent. “We want to change this and bring investors’ attention from traditional sectors towards livestock and the food market,” he said. “There are serious business opportunities here, we have tried and make it attractive to families who want to visit just to see the variety of animals.”

The exhibition is set to continue on Sunday (today) with the main event, an animal parade, scheduled for 4 pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2012.