THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEEPING PATTERNS FOR CONSERVING BUFFALOES IN THAILAND Juthamars Rattamana

Abstract

This research aimed at investigating the backgrounds and general physical features of research village, indigenous knowledge and the development of buffalo conservation in Thailand. This is a kind of qualitative research which its data were collected from documents concerned and a field study by means of a survey, an interview, an observation, and a focus group discussion. A sample was selected by means of a purposive sampling technique according to the criterion of social, cultural, and economic categories. Research population consisted of northern people (Chiangmai, Chiangrai), northeastern people (Surin, Biri Ram), central-part peopke (Chonburi, Supanburi) and southern people (Surat-Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat). A total sample of 88 people consisted of 24 key informants, 40 casual informants, and 24 general informants. A triangulation technique was used for examining data and a descriptive analysis was used for presenting research results. The research results revealed that Indigenous Knowledge and development of buffalo conservation in Thailand reflected through the use of rice fields of people for keeping buffaloes, the buffaloes were kept by tieing up weith the ropes and by letting them to eat grass freely. Almost breeds of them were sturdy buffaloes that like to swallow in the mud and artificial insemination and natural breeding were used for breeding. Main purposes of buffalo keeping were conserving way of like of Thai buffaloes parallel to Thai society and used them for cultural tourism activities. Almost buffalo pens in the form of roofless and non-partitions. Their food was fresh grass and straw. The development of keeping patterns for conserving buffaloes in Thailand could be conducted in many ways such as development the area of buffalo keeping, preparing grass and straw for them during farming period, selecting breeding stocks by artificial insemination in order to have qualitative sturdy buffaloes ; developing buildings to standard quality by fixing screens for protecting buffaloes from horseflies, gnats, mosquitoes, and poisonous animal ; roofing the buildings with eng tree leaves, lalang grass or tiles ; taking care of buffaloes health by a three-veterinary checking ; and developing the method of breeding selection