The Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana is now the proud owner of 8,500 water buffalo living in Tabasco, Mexico. Lake Charles businessman A.P. Leonards donated the beasts – worth $5.5 million – to the organization that provides financial support for charitable, social, educational and human services programs in Calcasieu, Beauregard, Allen, Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes. Leonards wants the donation to benefit the Daughters of Mary USA Fund, which pays to develop life skills for at-risk 11- to 17-year-old girls. Leonards is considered a North American pioneer in the field of water buffalo research, breeding and production. The animals are valued for their rich milk, meat and labor ability. The businessman donated the herd to a new company – Buf-Mex LLC – then donated the firm to the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana.
Lake Charles foundation gets ‘buffaloed’
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