EXOTIC ANIMAL AUCTION DRAWS OVER 800

The 13th annual 5-H Ranch Exotic Animal Auction got off to a wet but stellar start Wednesday, with 800 to 900 buyers and sellers attending the first day of the four-day event near Cape Girardeau.

Dave Hale, owner of 5-H Ranch, said the first day of the sale was a resounding success, despite a heavy rain shower midway through the afternoon.

"It went absolutely great today," Hale said. "It'll get bigger as the week goes along."

Last year, 8,000 to 9,000 people from all over the United States and Canada attended the auction, held at the ranch situated off Route W, five miles north of Cape Girardeau.

Hale conducts animal auctions twice a year a three-day event in the spring and a five-day fall affair.

The auction is the largest of its kind in the United States, and Hale said 5-H Ranch has a mailing list of about 14,000 people who have attended the sale.

He said most of the people who come to the auctions are from outside the Cape Girardeau area.

"It's all private citizens mostly farmers that raise these animals simply as another way of making money. It's a different way of raising animals," Hale said.

"It's mainly a consignment thing, where people bring their animals to sell at our auction. There aren't too many local people.

"But people sure are welcome to come out and watch."

Hale said the most popular animals selling this year are Sicilian donkeys, llamas and camels. He said the exotic animal market has leveled off, but, although no one variety of animal is selling particularly well, several are popular.

More than 5,000 individual animals of all varieties are available at the auction.

"It's all really a good market right now," Hale said. "The highest priced ones here probably would be the camels. They can go as high as $25,000 to $30,000."

Hale said the rain shower Wednesday hampered the sale somewhat. But he said he hoped the weather would cooperate through the weekend.

"(Wednesday was) the first time in 13 years that we've had rain for the sale, so we're hoping for better weather the rest of the week," he said.

Other varieties of animals for sale this week include pot-bellied pigs; game birds, parrots and other exotic birds; primates; many varieties of deer and elk; African and Indian antelope; various breeds of wild sheep and goats; zebras; wallabies and kangaroos; horses and miniature horses; bison; yak; various water buffalo breeds; and exotic and miniature cattle including Watusi, the "King of Cattle."

The Watusi breed, which originated in Africa, has been present on the North American continent since shortly after World War II, primarily in zoos. It's only been recently that private individuals have begun raising Watusi.

The sale will continue through Saturday with facilities opening at 8 a.m. daily. At 9 a.m. each day, a "Big Top Swap" will be held where a selected mixture of animals and birds will be sold. The regular auction begins each day at 10 a.m. and continues until 10 p.m.

Today's sale will feature zebras, wallabies, kangaroos, Chinese water deer, camels, llamas, and a wide selection of other animals in the "Big Top Swap."

Friday's sale will include pot-bellied pigs, ratites (ostrich, rhea and emu), and miniature horses and donkeys. On Saturday, bison, yak, water buffalo, miniature cattle and Watusi are some of the animals that will be auctioned.