Do I hear 500 colones?

Do I hear 500 colones?
Originally uploaded by ancho and lefty.

After my neighbor's cattle ventured into the great beyond, we spent the rest of the day at the cattle auction in Santa Anna, Costa Rica. Here, they are auctioning off two oxen who will be used as work animals. I liked the auction, but it was very loud and disorienting. The two men standing up on platforms over the animals had long electrical prods to boss the animals. The cattle were really disoriented when they went from the narrow line of cattle into a big room with lots of people staring at them. Nevertheless, for most of them I am sure it beat being in line for the slaughterhouse.

The bidding is done by pound. Once the bidding is complete, the animal goes through another door where it is weighed. By mulitplying the weight of the animal by the price per pound settle on during auction, you arrive at the price of the animal. Four percent of the price of the animal goes to the auction house. The rest gets paid out at the auction house in cash to the seller. This differs from the slaughterhouse where the seller waits about 15 days to get the money from the sell of the animals.