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Zebus in Madagascar: Discover the Unique Cattle of the Island

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Ambalavao Zebumarkt

Tradition with certain risks

As an agriculturally oriented country, livestock farming and agriculture have always played a crucial role in Madagascar. Unfortunately, this focus has already taken a very painful and drastic toll in many areas surrounding nature: Many hectares of Madagascar’s original forests have had to make way for crop and pasture lands.

Creating a sustainable environment is a priority in Madagascar, where deforestation and other harmful practices still threaten many villages, families, and individual farmers. The survival of the people on the island depends on these practices, including the importance of Zebus, which have been a crucial part of Malagasy culture for centuries. Zebus play an essential role in the cultural and social life of the population, being integral to many cultural and religious rituals and symbolizing wealth and prosperity. They are irreplaceable in the daily lives of the Malagasy people. Estimates suggest that there are currently more Zebus than people on the island, and when you book one of our individual trips and opt for a tour to the Vanilla Coast or an individual trip from Antananarivo to Tulear, you can be sure that you will encounter a few Zebus along your way sooner or later.

Zebu on Madagascar

Zebus as Prestige Objects

In Malagasy culture, Zebus hold a special place: they are needed to gain the favor of ancestors and are an essential part of many ceremonies. However, Zebus are not typically seen as having additional benefits. The milk and leather of humpback cattle are not processed, and people do not typically consume the meat of the animals. Even for agricultural work, the cattle are only minimally used, occasionally pulling a cart or trampling the earth on rice fields. In fact, the presence of Zebus can lead to conflicts between farmers and herders.

Zebus cost most families significantly more than they benefit, but changing the entrenched traditions in Madagascar is anything but easy. Nowadays, in addition to the high costs, another risk factor has emerged for all Zebu owners: cattle theft in Madagascar has increased dramatically in recent years. In fact, stealing a Zebu has always been considered a test of courage, especially among the Bara people, to prove one’s masculinity. However, in recent years, cattle theft has taken on larger proportions, with criminal organizations operating in many areas. This poses a significant challenge, especially for the poorer segments of the population. For the population living in small villages and communities in rural areas, this situation poses a high risk. Also, in connection with the Todesmarsch der Zebus

(Death March of the Zebus) which plays an important role in Madagascar, recent criminal developments surrounding zebu thefts have already had an impact. Every year, the zebus raised in the south of the island are taken on an extremely strenuous march to the slaughterhouses in the northern part of the country, over a distance of about 1,000 kilometers. During this journey, they must overcome numerous sparsely populated and dry areas – exhausted men in this situation cannot withstand an organized attack.

Traditions are hard to change

One factor that stands out in relation to the breeding of Zebus is that the cost-benefit calculation is extremely unbalanced. The people on the island have no benefits from raising cattle other than prestige. Since meat consumption in Madagascar has drastically decreased, even the benefits of raising cattle have diminished.

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