Tha Sophat, an 18-month-old residing in Nokor Pheas village, Cambodia, hasn’t received breast milk due to his mother’s need to work in Thailand to sustain their livelihood. Consequently, young Tha Sophat has been nourishing himself by suckling milk from a cow since July until now.

Because of his family’s difficult circumstances, Tha Sophat had to live in conditions of lack of care from his mother. The boy had to wean from a young age, and his health was also very weak. Tha Sophat’s grandfather, Um Oeung, 46 years old, said the boy suckled milk directly from cows after seeing calves do so

At first, Mr. Um Oeung pulled Tha Sophat away from the cows, but the boy cried a lot, and he had to continue to let him do so. Every day, the boy drinks milk directly from the cow. And until now, Tha Sophat was used to running to suck cow’s milk every day. The cows didn’t pay much attention to the fact that the boy Tha Sophat was sucking their milk.

The cows did not mind the boy’s work. The cow’s milk did not harm the boy’s health, on the contrary, he was healthy and growing up fast. However, local officials did not agree with this. They advised Tha Sophat’s grandfather to stop feeding the boy cow’s milk because it was unsafe. Besides, when growing up, Tha Sophat might be embarrassed by this act.