A month after Phill the water buffalo made his escape over a fence in Pleasant Hill, his former owner has been charged with a misdemeanor. Prem Nepal of Des Moines was charged with having an animal at large. It is a simple misdemeanor, and if convicted, Nepal could face a fine of between $105 and $855. He could also be jailed for up to 30 days.
“Phill was under the care of Nepal, who was attempting to slaughter the water buffalo, at the time of his escape,” the Des Moines Register reported, summarizing the filing by the Polk County Attorney’s Office. “Nepal told police to shoot the water buffalo, according to the complaint.”
The complaint also states that Nepal has previously been charged with having an animal at large. Although Nepal lives in Des Moines, he rents a fenced-in property in Pleasant Hill. Pleasant Hill police officers have responded to reports of animals, including goats and a cow, roaming loose after escaping from the property.
According to the complaint, Nepal told the police that Phill was aggressive. When the police first encountered Phill on Aug. 24, the buffalo was shot by an officer who was concerned that Phill might be a threat. Phill was wounded by the shotgun blast, but evaded the police and escaped. Four days later, officers working with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Polk County Conservation and the Blank Park Zoo were able to find Phill and tranquilize her.
Nepal purchased Phill and three other domesticated water buffalo from a dealer in Kansas, a few weeks before Phill escaped at the end of August, with the intention of butchering them for meat. Nepal had already killed one of the buffalo by the time Phill fled.
Phill was transported to Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital in Ames for treatment.
Nepal agreed to surrender Phill and his remaining two water buffalo — one male, one female — to the Iowa Farm Sanctuary (IFS) in Oxford. The nonprofit IFS, the only vegan farm sanctuary in Iowa, was founded in 2015 by Jared and Shawn Camp “to provide a safe haven for rescued farm animals in need of love and compassion while providing humans the opportunity to experience the unique sentience and intelligence found within these animals,” as its site explains.
The Camps named Phill’s companions Sal and Jane (“Like Jane Goodall,” Shawn Camp explained in an Instagram video). Phill received his unusually spelt name during his five days on the lam, when online admirers shortened “Pleasant Hill” to cheer on the nameless buffalo.
All three have been in IFS’s medical wing as they acclimatize to life at the 40-acre sanctuary. They will join the rest of the bovines, as well as other residents like Henry the one-eyed turkey, once the incisions from the medical procedures Phill and Sal had last week fully heal.
“Both Sal and Phill were intact and needed to be neutered,” the Camps explained in a social media update last week. “And of course, since Jane has been living with these gentlemen, we wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure there wasn’t a baby on board.”
“All of the procedures went well — the boys are already back to chewing their cud and Jane is baby free!”
Even before arriving at the sanctuary, Phill demonstrated just how wrong his former owner was when he told the police Phill was aggressive. He is not only calm, but enjoys the company of people, at least when they are not attempting to butcher him.
The once-wandering water buffalo’s fame has followed him to his new life at the sanctuary. In response to public demand, IFS now has Phill “Brave and Bulletproof” T-shirts and hoodies in its online shop. There’s also a Patreon account called the Moo Crew to let people make donations to support Phill, Sal and Jane.
