In his first major policy decision since joining government, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has licensed the human consumption of domesticated water buffalo meat.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Meat Control Act, the Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary declared the Domesticated Water Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis) as a food animal for purposes of the Act,” Kagwe said in a Kenya Gazette notice dated January 31, 2025.
Experts say buffalo meat is tasty and lean as it contains lower saturated fat than beef and pork, and hence is considered a meat of good dietary value.
The move now allows for its farming, slaughter, and processing for meat.
However, while Kagwe’s licence is welcome news to nutritionists, there is a danger it could lead to a rise in poaching of buffalos, including Cape buffaloes, which are mainly found in game parks, reserves and other protected areas.
In most African countries, poaching has led to a significant decline in the population of buffaloes, including water buffalos, in recent years, and it occurs even within protected areas, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
While the number of water buffaloes in the country is not clear, estimates indicated there are approximately 30,000 to 35,000 Cape buffalos in Kenya. The number of forest buffaloes (those found in forested areas) in the country.
In comparison, Tanzania boasts of an estimated 200,000 Cape buffalos, about half of the continent’s total population.
The water buffalo, also called Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans, Australia, North America, South America and some African countries. Two extant types of water buffalo are recognised, based on morphological and behavioural criteria: the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans, Egypt and Italy; and the swamp buffalo from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze Valley of China in the east.
Riverine buffaloes (about 70 percent of the total world population) are reared in high numbers in South Asia, especially in India and Pakistan while swamp buffaloes are mainly found in South-east Asia and Southern China.
The water buffalo has been domesticated by humans for thousands of years and is inhumanely used to pull heavy machinery, carry heavy loads, plow and transport people. Water buffaloes are commercially farmed around the globe for their milk, skin, butterfat and meat.
Water buffalo meat, sometimes called “carabeef”, is often passed off as beef in certain regions, and is also a major source of export revenue for India. In many Asian regions, water buffalo meat is less preferred due to its toughness; however, recipes have evolved (rendang, for example) where the slow cooking process and spices not only make the meat palatable, but also preserve it, an important factor in hot climates where refrigeration is not always available.
