Hong Kong is made up of some 263 islands.

The largest one is called Lantau Island, and it's a popular tourist destination. And on this island lives a famous bull named Billy, who lived on Pui-O beach.

And indeed, you might have noticed that we referred to Billy in the past tense — that's because on Monday, Nov. 26, Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department brought the sad news that the eight-year-old bull has died.

Plastic waste found in stomach

According to the department's announcement on Facebook, Billy's post-mortem examination yielded a startling find, though: his stomach was full of plastic bags, so much that the number of bags taken out was enough to fill up two trash bins.

The plastic waste Billy ingested caused a block in his intestines, which likely caused its death.

Feeding behaviour changed by tourists who fed it human food in plastic bags

As it turns out, Billy's sad story stems from a phenomenon familiar to many Singaporean animal lovers: the Need to Feed The Animals Human Food phenomenon.

In recent years, tourists have been giving Pui O's free-ranging bovines human food to eat, making it a habit for bulls like Billy to approach people for meals along the beaches instead of foraging for its own.

As a result, Billy was conditioned to associate plastic bags with food, and would also tear open plastic bags with the impression that there was food in them.

And because the bulls in the suburbs are left to graze freely, it's almost certain that they would have eaten trash accidentally.

Litter left behind by tourists, coupled with ineffective government-designed educational banners, appears to have worsened the problem.

https://www.facebook.com/1504485919788548/photos/a.2216270241943442/2216270405276759/?type=3&theater

Billy, the amazing survivor

Billy was well loved by the people on Lantau Island especially as it grew up there and had an exceptional story.

Originally from Tong Fuk, a village in Lantau, Billy lost its mother to a car accident when it was a calf.

Two weeks after this tragedy, it was bitten and severely injured by the dogs in the village — fortunately, it was saved by a volunteer and sent to a vet in time.

Billy was then nursed and taken care of by the vet and Lantau residents for over a year.

The lone bull later joined the buffaloes on the beach, despite being a different species, which over the years made it even more endearing to the residents of Lantau.

Many netizens were shocked and saddened by Billy's death, which also served as a reminder to visitors to avoid feeding the wild bulls.

"When I was trekking at Pei-O, I saw a few bovines grazing. It was very scenic! Please don't feed wild animals!"

"Ignorance can kill."

"Whenever I see people feeding the wildlife in the suburbs, I'll ask them not to do it."

"Actually all animals are friends with human-beings, we should cherish and protect them."

"Can we put up advisory to remind visitors not to feed the wild animals?"

Rest in peace, Billy.

You can read the department's full post here:

"[Goodbye! Billy!] Billy had been living in Pui-O since young, it was tame and many residents at Lantau Island knew it. Billy, like other bovines, will graze freely at Pui-O; until recent years, some tourists started to feed Billy with human food and changed its feeding habits. Billy occasionally would visit the beaches, approach tourists for food, associating plastic bags with food and started to open plastic bags to look for food.

Unfortunately, Billy died a few days ago. An examination found out that its stomach is full of plastic bags, causing blockage in its intestinal tracts — the amount of plastic bags found filled two trash bins.

Actually, suburb bovines are used to grazing freely. Feeding inappropriate food will result in them having indigestion and becoming skinnier, or even die from intestinal blockage, the way Billy did. So, if you are visiting the suburb, please remember to avoid feeding wild animals, your kind intention may harm them instead!"

Top photo collage from the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.