Misplaced Pages

#335664

152-531: The breeding, maintenance, slaughter and general subjugation of livestock, called animal husbandry , is a part of modern agriculture and has been practiced in many cultures since humanity's transition to farming from hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Animal husbandry practices have varied widely across cultures and time periods. It continues to play a major economic and cultural role in numerous communities. Livestock farming practices have largely shifted to intensive animal farming . Intensive animal farming increases

304-489: A "sense of place, attachment to land, and the value of preserving open space were common themes". "The importance of land and animals as means of maintaining culture and way of life figured repeatedly in permittee responses, as did the subjects of responsibility and respect for land, animals, family, and community." In the US, profit tends to rank low among motivations for involvement in livestock ranching. Instead, family, tradition and

456-456: A British interactive farm in an outbreak in 2009. Historic farms such as those in the United States offer farmstays and "a carefully curated version of farming to those willing to pay for it", sometimes giving visitors a romanticised image of a pastoral idyll from an unspecified time in the pre-industrial past. Transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism,

608-504: A Farm " describes a farmer named MacDonald and the various animals he keeps, celebrating the noises they each make. Many urban children experience animal husbandry for the first time at a petting farm ; in Britain, some five million people a year visit a farm of some kind. This presents some risk of infection , especially if children handle animals and then fail to wash their hands ; a strain of E. coli infected 93 people who had visited

760-507: A buffer may sometimes be limited where alternatives are present, which may reflect strategic maintenance of insurance in addition to a desire to retain productive assets. Even for some farmers in Western nations, livestock can serve as a kind of insurance. Some crop growers may produce livestock as a strategy for diversification of their income sources, to reduce risks related to weather, markets and other factors. Many studies have found evidence of

912-445: A desired way of life tend to be major motivators for ranch purchase, and ranchers "historically have been willing to accept low returns from livestock production". Animal husbandry has a significant impact on the world environment. It is responsible for somewhere between 20 and 33% of the fresh water usage in the world, and livestock, and the production of feed for them, occupy about a third of Earth's ice-free land. Livestock production

1064-446: A fertiliser, returning minerals and organic matter to the soil in a semi-closed organic system. Although all mammals produce milk to nourish their young, the cow is predominantly used throughout the world to produce milk and milk products for human consumption. Other animals used to a lesser extent for this purpose include sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, yaks, reindeer, horses and donkeys. All these animals have been domesticated over

1216-490: A hunting instinct, leaving the carcass uneaten. Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to animal health on farms, bringing economic benefits through maximised production. When, despite these precautions, animals still become sick, they are treated with veterinary medicines , by the farmer and the veterinarian . In the European Union, when farmers treat the animals, they are required to follow

1368-549: A mountain farm, often quite distant from a home farm, to preserve meadows in valleys for producing hay . Livestock is typically tended during the summer by girls and younger women, who also milk and make cheese. Bulls usually remain at the home farm. As autumn approaches and grazing is exhausted, livestock is returned to the farm. In Sweden, this system was predominantly used in Värmland , Dalarna , Härjedalen , Jämtland , Hälsingland , Medelpad and Ångermanland . The practice

1520-487: A plough to increase production of crops, and drawing a sledge, and later a cart, to bring the produce home from the field. Draught animals were first used about 4,000 BC in the Middle East, increasing agricultural production immeasurably. In southern Asia, the elephant was domesticated by 6,000 BC. Fossilised chicken bones dated to 5040 BC have been found in northeastern China, far from where their wild ancestors lived in

1672-469: A połazzka brought to the sałasz. This was intended to cleanse them of diseases and prevent misfortune. Then the flock was herded around it three times, which was intended to concentrate the sheep into one group and prevent individual animals from escaping. Baca's task was to pull the sheep behind him, helping himself with salt which he sprinkled on the flock. With the help of dogs and whistles, the Juhasi encouraged

SECTION 10

#1732858843336

1824-699: A remnant of an older ethnic culture now surviving in isolated minorities, such as the " Pasiegos " in Cantabria , " Agotes " in Navarre , and " Vaqueiros de alzada " in Asturias and León . Transhumance in the Pyrenees involves relocation of livestock (cows, sheep, horses) to high mountains during the summer months, because farms in the lowland are too small to support a larger herd all year round. The mountain period starts in late May or early June, and ends in early October. Until

1976-469: A seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions ( vertical transhumance ), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base. In contrast, movement in plains or plateaus (horizontal transhumance)

2128-562: A significant impact on the world environment. Both production and consumption of animal products have increased rapidly. Since 1950, meat production has tripled, whereas the production of dairy products doubled and that of eggs almost increased fourfold. Meanwhile, meat consumption has nearly doubled worldwide. Developing countries had a surge in meat consumption, particularly of monogastric livestock. Animal husbandry drives climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss, and kills 60 billion animals annually. It uses between 20 and 33% of

2280-816: A small area and given supplementary heating. Litter on the floor absorbs the droppings and the area occupied is expanded as they grow. Feed and water is supplied automatically and the lighting is controlled. The birds may be harvested on several occasions or the whole shed may be cleared at one time. A similar rearing system is usually used for turkeys, which are less hardy than chickens, but they take longer to grow and are often moved on to separate fattening units to finish. Ducks are particularly popular in Asia and Australia and can be killed at seven weeks under commercial conditions. Aquaculture has been defined as "the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants and implies some form of intervention in

2432-576: A summer retreat on the former yayla grazing land. Transhumance related to sheep farming is still practised in Georgia . The shepherds with their flocks have to cross the 2,826 metres (9,272 ft) high Abano Pass from the mountains of Tusheti to the plains of Kakheti . Up until the dissolution of Soviet Union they intensively used the Kizlyar plains of Northern Dagestan for the same purpose. The central Afghan highlands of Afghanistan , which surround

2584-464: A treeless mountain plateau . This is the seterfjell , or summer farm region, once of vital importance both as summer pastureland and for haymaking. While previously many farms had their own seters, it is more usual for several farmers to share a modernised common seter ( fellesseter ). Most of the old seters have been left to decay or are used as recreational cabins. The name for the common mountain pasture in most Scandinavian languages derives from

2736-483: A typical broiler chicken at eight weeks old was 4.8 times as heavy as a bird of similar age in 1957, while in the thirty years to 2007, the average milk yield of a dairy cow in the United States nearly doubled. Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to animal health on the farm, bringing economic benefits through maximised production. When, despite these precautions, animals still become sick, they are treated with veterinary medicines , by

2888-472: A variety of food and non-food products; the latter include leather, wool, pharmaceuticals, bone products, industrial protein, and fats. For many abattoirs, very little animal biomass may be wasted at slaughter. Even intestinal contents removed at slaughter may be recovered for use as fertilizer. Livestock manure helps maintain the fertility of grazing lands. Manure is commonly collected from barns and feeding areas to fertilize cropland. In some places, animal manure

3040-550: A week. At the other extreme, in the more developed parts of the world, animals are often intensively managed ; dairy cows may be kept in zero-grazing conditions with all their forage brought to them; beef cattle may be kept in high density feedlots ; pigs may be housed in climate-controlled buildings and never go outdoors; poultry may be reared in barns and kept in cages as laying birds under lighting-controlled conditions. In between these two extremes are semi-intensive, often family-run farms where livestock graze outside for much of

3192-543: A week. At the other extreme, in the more Western parts of the world, animals are often intensively managed ; dairy cows may be kept in zero-grazing conditions with all their forage brought to them; beef cattle may be kept in high density feedlots ; pigs may be housed in climate-controlled buildings and never go outdoors; poultry may be reared in barns and kept in cages as laying birds under lighting-controlled conditions. In between these two extremes are semi-intensive, often family-run farms where livestock graze outside for much of

SECTION 20

#1732858843336

3344-428: Is a contributing factor in species extinction , desertification , and habitat destruction . Meat is considered one of the prime factors contributing to the current sixth mass extinction . Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in various ways. Habitat is destroyed by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for animal grazing (for example, animal husbandry is responsible for up to 91% of

3496-517: Is a deciduous tree. In China, Korea and Japan however, two generations are normal, and in the tropics, multiple generations are expected. Most production of silk occurs in the Far East, with a synthetic diet being used to rear the silkworms in Japan. Insects form part of the human diet in many cultures. In Thailand, crickets are farmed for this purpose in the north of the country, and palm weevil larvae in

3648-483: Is destroyed by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for grazing, while predators and herbivores are frequently targeted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits; for example, animal husbandry causes up to 91% of the deforestation in the Amazon region . In addition, livestock produce greenhouse gases . Cows produce some 570 million cubic metres of methane per day, that accounts for 35 to 40% of

3800-529: Is done with the intention of increasing animal production, but in turn increases emissions. In addition, livestock produce greenhouse gases . The IPCC has estimated that agriculture (including not only livestock, but also food crop, biofuel and other production) accounted for about 10 to 12 percent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (expressed as 100-year carbon dioxide equivalents) in 2005 and in 2010. Cattle produce some 79 million tons of methane per day. Live westock enteric methane account 30% of

3952-432: Is estimated as close to $ 1 trillion . As an outright end to human consumption of meat and/or animal products is not currently considered a realistic goal, any comprehensive adaptation to effects of climate change must also consider livestock. The observed adverse impacts on livestock production include increased heat stress in all but the coldest nations. This causes both mass animal mortality during heatwaves , and

4104-696: Is estimated, however, that tens of thousands of rural people still practice these traditions in villages on the northern and southwestern slopes of the Caucasus, in the lesser Caucasus in Armenia , and in the Turkish Black Sea region. Some communities continue to play out ancient migration patterns. For example, the Pontic Greeks visit the area and the monastery Sumela in the summer. Turks from cities in Europe have built

4256-594: Is evidence that transhumance was practised world-wide prior to recorded history: in Europe, isotope studies of livestock bones suggest that certain animals were moved seasonally. The prevalence of various groups of Hill people around the world suggests that indigenous knowledge regarding transhumance must have developed and survived over generations to allow for the acquisition of sufficient skills to thrive in mountainous regions. Most drovers are conversant with subsistence agriculture , pastoralism as well as forestry and frozen water and fast stream management . In

4408-520: Is indistinct and may be defined narrowly or broadly. Broadly, livestock refers to any population of animals kept by humans for a useful, commercial purpose. Micro-livestock is the term used for much-smaller animals, usually mammals. The two predominant categories are rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits). Even-smaller animals are kept and raised, such as crickets and honey bees . Micro-livestock does not generally include fish ( aquaculture ) or chickens ( poultry farming ). Traditionally, animal husbandry

4560-427: Is mainly derived from cereals and cereal by-products, fats and oils and sugar-rich foods, while protein may come from fish or meat meal, milk products, legumes and other plant foods, often the by-products of vegetable oil extraction. Pigs and poultry are non-ruminants and unable to digest the cellulose in grass and other forages, so they are fed entirely on cereals and other high-energy foodstuffs. The ingredients for

4712-455: Is managed by farmers with a view to encouraging traits seen as desirable. These include hardiness, fertility, docility, mothering abilities, fast growth rates, low feed consumption per unit of growth, better body proportions, higher yields, and better fibre qualities. Undesirable traits such as health defects and aggressiveness are selected against. Selective breeding has been responsible for large increases in productivity. For example, in 2007,

Livestock - Misplaced Pages Continue

4864-433: Is more susceptible to disruption by climatic, economic, or political change. Traditional or fixed transhumance has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia . It is often important to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks and herds ( milk , butter , yogurt and cheese ) may form much of the diet of such populations. In many languages there are words for

5016-694: Is mostly vertical while some families in the plains of the Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts also practice lateral or horizontal transhumance. More than 85% of the migratory transhumant population moves within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while the remaining 15% undertakes inter-state movement to the neighbouring Punjab State and to the Ladakh Union territory. Gujjars – a migratory tribe – also sparsely inhabit several areas in parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Gujjar-Bakkerwal tribe represents

5168-456: Is no single universally agreed definition of which species are livestock. Widely agreed types of livestock include cattle for beef and dairy, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Various other species are sometimes considered livestock, such as horses, while poultry birds are sometimes excluded. In some parts of the world, livestock includes species such as buffalo, and the South American camelids,

5320-467: Is now frowned on in many countries because of the risk that it may lead to antimicrobial resistance in livestock and in humans. Governments are concerned with zoonoses , diseases that humans may acquire from animals. Wild animal populations may harbour diseases that can affect domestic animals which may acquire them as a result of insufficient biosecurity . An outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia in 1999

5472-461: Is only part of the purpose of keeping an animal which may also be used as a beast of burden or to draw a plough, or for the production of fibre, meat and leather, with the dung being used for fuel or for the improvement of soil fertility . Sheep and goats may be favoured for dairy production in climates and conditions that do not suit dairy cows. Meat , mainly from farmed animals, is a major source of dietary protein and essential nutrients around

5624-582: Is practical and down to earth, and anti-intellectual. Farm animals are widespread in books and songs for children; the reality of animal husbandry is often distorted, softened, or idealized, giving children an almost entirely fictitious account of farm life. The books often depict happy animals free to roam in attractive countryside, a picture completely at odds with the realities of the impersonal, mechanized activities involved in modern intensive farming . Pigs, for example, appear in several of Beatrix Potter 's "little books", as Piglet in A.A. Milne 's Winnie

5776-509: Is pronounced as a barely audible h (so-called sonorous h), similarly to the word schować, which in the highlander language is pronounced as sowa. In the Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "(...) they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of

5928-538: Is seasonal, for example in the temperate summer or tropical rainy season , so some areas of the crop are set aside to be cut and preserved, either as hay (dried grass), or as silage (fermented grass). Other forage crops are also grown and many of these, as well as crop residues, can be ensiled to fill the gap in the nutritional needs of livestock in the lean season. Extensively reared animals may subsist entirely on forage, but more intensively kept livestock will require energy and protein-rich foods in addition. Energy

6080-583: Is still used in some parts of the world. Truck transport is now common in developed countries. Local and regional livestock auctions and specialized agricultural markets facilitate trade in livestock. In Canada at the Cargill slaughterhouse in High River, Alberta , 2,000 workers process 4,500 cattle per day, or more than one-third of Canada's capacity. It closed when some of its workers became infected with coronavirus disease 2019 . The Cargill plant together with

6232-657: Is the origin of numerous related cultures in the Americas such as the cowboys of the United States and the Gauchos of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. A network of droveways , or cañadas , crosses the whole peninsula, running mostly south-west to north-east. They have been charted since ancient times, and classified according to width; the standard cañada is between 37.5 to 75 metres (123 to 246 ft) wide, with some cañadas reales (meaning royal droveways ) being 800 metres (2,625 ft) wide at certain points. The land within

Livestock - Misplaced Pages Continue

6384-430: Is used as fuel, either directly (as in some non-Western countries), or indirectly (as a source of methane for heating or for generating electricity). In regions where machine power is limited, some classes of livestock are used as draft stock, not only for tillage and other on-farm use, but also for transport of people and goods. In 1997, livestock provided energy for between an estimated 25 and 64% of cultivation energy in

6536-608: Is used by both settled communities and nomadic pastoralists like the Pashtun Kuchis . Major pastures in the region include the Nawur pasture in northern Ghazni Province (whose area is about 600 km at elevation of up to 3,350 m), and the Shewa pasture and the Little Pamir in eastern Badakhshan Province . The Little Pamir pasture, whose elevation is above 4,000 metres (13,000 ft),

6688-457: Is used by the Afghan Kyrgyz to raise livestock. In Nuristan , the inhabitants live in permanent villages surrounded by arable fields on irrigated terraces. Most of the livestock are goats. They are taken up to a succession of summer pastures each spring by herdsmen while most of the villagers remain behind to irrigate the terraced fields and raise millet, maize, and wheat; work mostly done by

6840-621: The Balkan Mountains , and they would spend the winter on warmer plains in the vicinity of the Aegean Sea . The Morlach or Karavlachs were a population of Eastern Romance shepherds ("ancestors" of the Istro-Romanians) who lived in the Dinaric Alps (western Balkans in modern use), constantly migrating in search of better pastures for their sheep flocks. But as national states appeared in

6992-577: The Balkans , Albanians , Greek Sarakatsani , Eastern Romance ( Romanians , Aromanians , Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians ) and Turkish Yörük peoples traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. When the area was part of the Austro-Hungary and Ottoman Empires , borders between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia were relatively unobstructed. In summer, some groups went as far north as

7144-650: The Cairnamounth , Elsick Mounth and Causey Mounth . This practice has largely stopped but was practised within living memory in the Hebrides and in the Scottish Highlands . Today much transhumance is carried out by truck, with upland flocks being transported under agistment to lower-lying pasture during winter. Evidence exists of transhumance being practised in England since at least medieval times, from Cornwall in

7296-1190: The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has worked in Zimbabwe to help farmers make their most of their livestock herds. In stock shows , farmers bring their best livestock to compete with one another. Humans and livestock make up more than 90% of the biomass of all terrestrial vertebrates , and almost as much as all insects combined. The value of global livestock production in 2013 has been estimated at 883 billion dollars, (constant 2005–2006 dollars). However, economic implications of livestock production extend further: to downstream industry (saleyards, abattoirs , butchers , milk processors, refrigerated transport, wholesalers, retailers, food services , tanneries, etc.), upstream industry (feed producers, feed transport, farm and ranch supply companies, equipment manufacturers, seed companies , vaccine manufacturers, etc.) and associated services ( veterinarians , nutrition consultants, shearers, etc.). Livestock provide

7448-686: The JBS plant in Brooks, Alberta and the Harmony Beef plant in Balzac, Alberta represent fully three-quarters of the Canadian beef supply. In other areas, livestock may be bought and sold in a bazaar or wet market , such as may be found in many parts of Central Asia . In non-Western countries, providing access to markets has encouraged farmers to invest in livestock, with the result being improved livelihoods. For example,

7600-594: The Koh-i-Baba and continue eastward into the Hindu Kush range, there are very cold winters, and short and cool summers. These highlands have mountain pastures during summer ( sardsīr ), watered by many small streams and rivers. There are also pastures available during winter in the neighboring warm lowlands ( garmsīr ), which makes the region ideal for seasonal transhumance. The Afghan Highlands contain about 225,000 km (87,000 sq mi) of summer pasture, which

7752-563: The Middle East . Animal rights activists have objected to long-distance transport of animals; one result was the banning of live exports from New Zealand in 2003. Since the 18th century, the farmer John Bull has represented English national identity , first in John Arbuthnot 's political satires, and soon afterwards in cartoons by James Gillray and others including John Tenniel . He likes food, beer, dogs, horses, and country sports ; he

SECTION 50

#1732858843336

7904-561: The North Governorate of Lebanon . Towns and villages located in the Qadisha valley are at an average altitude of 1,400 metres (4,593 ft). Some settlements, like Ehden and Kfarsghab , are used during summer periods from the beginning of June until mid-October. Inhabitants move in October to coastal towns situated at an average of 200 metres (656 ft) above sea level. The transhumance

8056-618: The Old Norse term setr . In Norwegian, the term is sæter or seter ; in Swedish, säter . The place name appears in Sweden in several forms as Säter and Sätra , and as a suffix: - säter , - sätra , - sätt and - sättra . Those names appear extensively across Sweden with a centre in the Mälaren basin and in Östergötland . The surname "Satter" is derived from these words. In

8208-497: The cellulose in forage and require other high-protein foods. The verb to husband , meaning "to manage carefully", derives from an older meaning of husband , which in the 14th century referred to the ownership and care of a household or farm, but today means the "control or judicious use of resources", and in agriculture, the cultivation of plants or animals. Farmers and ranchers who raise livestock are considered to practice animal husbandry . The domestication of livestock

8360-513: The deforestation in the Amazon region ), while predators and herbivores are frequently targeted and hunted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits. The newest report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that between the 1970s and 2000s agricultural emission increases were directly linked to an increase in livestock. The population growth of livestock (including cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats)

8512-470: The nomads in the Middle East, while cattle and pigs were associated with more settled communities. The first wild animal to be domesticated was the dog . Half-wild dogs, perhaps starting with young individuals, may have been tolerated as scavengers and killers of vermin, and being naturally pack hunters , were predisposed to become part of the human pack and join in the hunt. Prey animals, sheep, goats, pigs and cattle, were progressively domesticated early in

8664-501: The 1970s, transhumance was used mainly for dairy cows, and cheese-making was an important activity in the summer months. In some regions, nearly all members of a family decamped to higher mountains with their cows, living in rudimentary stone cabins for the summer grazing season. That system, which evolved during the Middle Ages , lasted into the 20th century. It declined and broke down under pressure from industrialisation , as people left

8816-611: The Far East from about 15,000 years ago. Goats and sheep were domesticated in multiple events sometime between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. Pigs were domesticated by 8,500 BC in the Near East and 6,000 BC in China . Domestication of horses dates to around 4,000 BC. Cattle have been domesticated since approximately 10,500 years ago. Chickens and other poultry may have been domesticated around 7,000 BC. The term "livestock"

8968-617: The Kashkai drove their livestock from south to north, where they lived in summer quarters, known as Yaylak , in the high mountains from April to October. They traditionally grazed their flocks on the slopes of the Kuh-e-Dinar , a group of mountains from 12,000 to 15,000 feet (3,700 to 4,600 m), part of the Zagros chain. In autumn the Kashkai broke camp, leaving the highlands to winter in warmer regions near Firuzabad, Kazerun, Jerrè, Farashband, on

9120-696: The Kinnaura community in Himachal Pradesh adapt to harsh high-altitude conditions. However, this age-old practice is under threat due to socioeconomic, policy, and environmental changes, risking the erosion of pastoralism-related TEK. The Bakhtiari tribe of Iran still practised this way of life in the mid-20th century. All along the Zagros Mountains from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea , pastoral tribes move back and forth with their herds annually according to

9272-537: The Mediterranean. In ancient Egypt , cattle were the most important livestock, and sheep, goats, and pigs were also kept; poultry including ducks, geese, and pigeons were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them. The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish. Honey bees were domesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, providing both honey and wax. In ancient Rome , all

SECTION 60

#1732858843336

9424-406: The Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "(...) they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of the whole herd (flock). The sheep of all the shepherds were gathered in one place at the foot of the mountains, and then one large herd was driven to

9576-563: The New World for the first time along with wheat, barley, rice and turnips. Selective breeding for desired traits was established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. One of his most important breeding programs was with sheep. Using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool

9728-478: The New World, and then in the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century, when livestock breeds like the Dishley Longhorn cattle and Lincoln Longwool sheep were rapidly improved by agriculturalists, such as Robert Bakewell , to yield more meat, milk, and wool . A wide range of other species, such as horse , water buffalo , llama , rabbit , and guinea pig , are used as livestock in some parts of

9880-576: The Pooh stories, and somewhat more darkly (with a hint of animals going to slaughter) as Babe in Dick King-Smith 's The Sheep-Pig , and as Wilbur in E. B. White 's Charlotte's Web . Pigs tend to be "bearers of cheerfulness, good humour and innocence". Many of these books are completely anthropomorphic , dressing farm animals in clothes and having them walk on two legs, live in houses, and perform human activities. The children's song " Old MacDonald Had

10032-479: The Westmoreland bull to create the Dishley Longhorn . The semi-natural, unfertilised pastures formed by traditional agricultural methods in Europe were managed by grazing and mowing. As the ecological impact of this land management strategy is similar to the impact of such natural disturbances as grazing and wildfire , this agricultural system shares many beneficial characteristics with a natural habitat, including

10184-639: The alpaca and llama. Some authorities use much broader definitions to include fish in aquaculture , micro-livestock such as rabbits and rodents like guinea pigs , as well as insects from honey bees to crickets raised for human consumption . Animals are raised for a wide variety of products, principally meat , wool , milk , and eggs , but also including tallow , isinglass and rennet . Animals are also kept for more specialised purposes, such as to produce vaccines and antiserum (containing antibodies ) for medical use. Where fodder or other crops are grown alongside animals, manure can serve as

10336-448: The animal for food was a secondary consideration, and wherever possible its products such as wool, eggs, milk and blood (by the Maasai ) were harvested while the animal was still alive. In the traditional system of transhumance , people and livestock moved seasonally between fixed summer and winter pastures; in montane regions the summer pasture was up in the mountains, the winter pasture in

10488-467: The animal products they consumed came from animals that were treated "humanely". Believing that livestock farming is cruel was cited as a reason for becoming vegan or vegetarian throughout the 2010s. Animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat , fibre , milk , or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding , and

10640-404: The animals' rations can be grown on the farm or can be bought, in the form of pelleted or cubed, compound foodstuffs specially formulated for the different classes of livestock, their growth stages and their specific nutritional requirements. Vitamins and minerals are added to balance the diet. Farmed fish are usually fed pelleted food. The breeding of farm animals seldom occurs spontaneously but

10792-479: The area of the former Ottoman Empire , new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. These prevented easy movement across borders, particularly at times of war, which have been frequent. In Poland it is called redyk, it is the ceremonial departure of shepherds with their flocks of sheep and shepherd dogs, to graze in the mountain pastures (spring redyk), as well as their return from grazing (autumn redyk). In

10944-607: The banks of the Mond River . Their winter quarters were known as Kishlak/Qishlaq/Gishlak . The migration was organised and controlled by the Kashkai Chief. The tribes avoided villages and towns, such as Shiraz and Isfahan, because their large flocks, numbering seven million head, could cause serious damage. In the 1950s, the Kashkai tribes were estimated to number 400,000 people in total. There have been many social changes since that time. Examples of fixed transhumance are found in

11096-437: The birds are unable to exhibit their normal behaviours. In the developed world, the majority of the poultry reared for meat is raised indoors in big sheds, with automated equipment under environmentally controlled conditions. Chickens raised in this way are known as broilers, and genetic improvements have meant that they can be grown to slaughter weight within six or seven weeks of hatching. Newly hatched chicks are restricted to

11248-502: The birds can roam as they will but are housed at night for their own protection, through semi-intensive systems where they are housed in barns and have perches, litter and some freedom of movement, to intensive systems where they are kept in cages. The battery cages are arranged in long rows in multiple tiers, with external feeders, drinkers, and egg collection facilities. This is the most labour saving and economical method of egg production but has been criticised on animal welfare grounds as

11400-452: The book, had in 1086 "2 fisheries worth [paying tax of] 7s and 6d [each year] and 20 acres of meadow [for livestock]. Woodland for [feeding] 70 pigs." The improvements of animal husbandry in the medieval period in Europe went hand in hand with other developments. Improvements to the plough allowed the soil to be tilled to a greater depth. Horses took over from oxen as the main providers of traction, new ideas on crop rotation were developed and

11552-479: The centuries, being bred for such desirable characteristics as fecundity, productivity, docility and the ability to thrive under the prevailing conditions. Whereas in the past cattle had multiple functions, modern dairy cow breeding has resulted in specialised Holstein Friesian-type animals that produce large quantities of milk economically. Artificial insemination is widely available to allow farmers to select for

11704-405: The character of the movement. The Sami people practice transhumance with reindeer by a different system than is described immediately below. The common mountain or forest pasture used for transhumance in summer is called seter or bod / bua . The same term is used for a related mountain cabin, which was used as a summer residence. In summer (usually late June), livestock is moved to

11856-661: The closure of the Sino-Indian border following the Sino-Indian War of 1962. In the decades following this war, transhumance as a way of life rapidly declined among the Bhotiya people. The pastoral Gujars of northern India rely on state forests for pasture but face increasing restrictions from the government. This has led to significant impoverishment as they lose traditional grazing land and fall into debt. Transhumant pastoralism, guided by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), helps

12008-536: The countryside for jobs in cities. However, the importance of transhumance continues to be recognised through its celebration in popular festivals. The Mont Perdu / Monte Perdido region of the Pyrenees has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by virtue of its association with the transhumance system of agriculture. In Scandinavia, transhumance is practised to a certain extent; however, livestock are transported between pastures by motorised vehicles, changing

12160-515: The countryside to assist in pollination. Sericulture , the rearing of silkworms, was first adopted by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty . The only species farmed commercially is the domesticated silkmoth . When it spins its cocoon , each larva produces an exceedingly long, slender thread of silk. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves and in Europe, only one generation is normally raised each year as this

12312-415: The cultural transition to settled farming communities from hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Animals are domesticated when their breeding and living conditions are controlled by humans. Over time, the collective behaviour, lifecycle and physiology of livestock have changed radically. Many modern farmed animals are unsuited to life in the natural world. Dogs were domesticated early; dogs appear in Europe and

12464-451: The data indicating this is frequently of superior quality to one used to estimate impacts on the spread of human pathogens. While some areas which currently support livestock animals are expected to avoid "extreme heat stress" even with high warming at the end of the century, others may stop being suitable as early as midcentury. In general, sub-Saharan Africa is considered to be the most vulnerable region to food security shocks caused by

12616-506: The droveways is publicly owned and protected by law. In some high valleys of the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains , transhumant herding has been the main, or only, economic activity. Regulated passes and pasturage have been distributed among different valleys and communities according to the seasonal range of use and community jurisdiction. Unique social groups associated with the transhumant lifestyle are sometimes identified as

12768-604: The establishment of a mounted police force as far back as the 17th century. The tratturi remain public property and subject to conservation by the law protecting cultural heritage. The Molise region candidates the tratturi to the UNESCO as a world heritage. Transhumance is historically widespread throughout much of Spain, particularly in the regions of Castile, Leon and Extremadura, where nomadic cattle and sheep herders travel long distances in search of greener pastures in summer and warmer climatic conditions in winter. Spanish transhumance

12920-674: The farmer and the veterinarian . In the European Union, when farmers treat their own animals, they are required to follow the guidelines for treatment and to record the treatments given. Animals are susceptible to a number of diseases and conditions that may affect their health. Some, like classical swine fever and scrapie are specific to one type of stock, while others, like foot-and-mouth disease affect all cloven-hoofed animals. Animals living under intensive conditions are prone to internal and external parasites ; increasing numbers of sea lice are affecting farmed salmon in Scotland. Reducing

13072-448: The fire. It began with the resurrection of the "holy fire" in the kolyba (shepherd's hut). Custom dictated that from that day on, it was to be kept burning continuously by the main shepherd – the shepherd. Next, the sheep were led around a small chevron or spruce tree stuck in the ground – the so-called mojka (which was supposed to symbolize the health and strength of everyone present in the hall) and they were fumigated with burning herbs and

13224-575: The first half of the 20th century, as the Kemalist and later Soviet governments tried to modernise the societies and stress urban development, rather than maintaining rural traditions. In the second half of the 20th century, migration for work from the Pontic mountains to cities in Turkey and western Europe, and from the northern Caucasus to Moscow , dramatically reduced the number of people living in transhumance. It

13376-444: The growing of crops for winter fodder gained ground. Peas, beans and vetches became common; they increased soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, allowing more livestock to be kept. Exploration and colonisation of North and South America resulted in the introduction into Europe of such crops as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc, while the principal Old World livestock – cattle, horses, sheep and goats – were introduced into

13528-419: The guidelines for treatment and to record the treatments given. Animals are susceptible to a number of diseases and conditions that may affect their health. Some, like classical swine fever and scrapie are specific to one population of animals, while others, like foot-and-mouth disease affect all cloven-hoofed animals. Where the condition is serious, governments impose regulations on import and export, on

13680-675: The heartland of the Swedish transhumance region, the most commonly used term is bod or bua (the word is also used for small storage houses and the like; it has evolved in English as booth ); in modern Standard Swedish , fäbod . The oldest mention of seter in Norway is in Heimskringla , the saga of Olaf II of Norway 's travel through Valldal to Lesja . In the heavily forested Caucasus and Pontic mountain ranges, various peoples still practice transhumance to varying degrees. During

13832-402: The herd and made sure that the sheep followed the shepherd. Sheep that fell outside the circle boded ill. It was believed that the number of sheep that fell outside the circle would die in the coming season. The stay in the pasture (hala) begins on St. Wojciech's Day (April 23), and ends on Michaelmas Day (September 29). This method of sheep grazing is a relic of transhumant agriculture, which

13984-641: The higher summer pastures, and frequently these words have been used as place names: e.g. hafod in Wales, shieling in Scotland, or alp in Germany, Austria and German-speaking regions of Switzerland. The word transhumance comes from French and derives from the Latin words trans "across" and humus "ground". Literally, it means crossing the land. Transhumance developed on every inhabited continent . Although there are substantial cultural and technological variations,

14136-1000: The highest transhumant population in the world and accounts for nearly 98% of the transhumant population in Jammu and Kashmir. The Bhotiya communities of Uttarakhand historically practiced transhumance. They would spend the winter months at low altitude settlements in the Himalayan foothills, gathering resources to trade in Tibet over the summer. In the summer, they would move up to high-altitude settlements along various river valleys. Traditionally involved in wool cleaning, spinning, and weaving items like shawls and carpets, these villagers now rely on transhumant herders for raw materials as they no longer keep livestock. Some people would remain at these settlements to cultivate farms; some would head to trade marts, crossing high mountain passes into western Tibet, while some others would practice nomadic pastoralism. This historic way of life came to an abrupt halt due to

14288-473: The history of agriculture. Pigs were domesticated in the Near East between 8,500 and 8000 BC, sheep and goats in or near the Fertile Crescent about 8,500 BC, and cattle from wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan around 8,500 BC. A cow was a great advantage to a villager as she produced more milk than her calf needed, and her strength could be put to use as a working animal , pulling

14440-474: The impacts of climate change on their livestock, as over 180 million people across those nations are expected to see significant declines in suitability of their rangelands around midcentury. On the other hand, Japan, the United States and nations in Europe are considered the least vulnerable. This is as much a product of pre-existing differences in human development index and other measures of national resilience and widely varying importance of pastoralism to

14592-473: The jungles of tropical Asia, but archaeologists believe that the original purpose of domestication was for the sport of cockfighting . Meanwhile, in South America, the llama and the alpaca had been domesticated, probably before 3,000 BC, as beasts of burden and for their wool. Neither was strong enough to pull a plough which limited the development of agriculture in the New World. Horses occur naturally on

14744-403: The landscape still clearly shows the layout of the rundale system of agriculture. The livestock, usually cattle, was moved from a permanent lowland village to summer pastures in the mountains. The appearance of "Summerhill" ( Irish : Cnoc an tSamhraidh ) in many place names also bears witness to the practice. This transfer alleviated pressure on the growing crops and provided fresh pasture for

14896-530: The livestock known in ancient Egypt were available. In addition, rabbits were domesticated for food by the first century BC. To help flush them out from their burrows, the polecat was domesticated as the ferret , its use described by Pliny the Elder . In northern Europe, agriculture including animal husbandry went into decline when the Roman empire collapsed. Some aspects such as the herding of animals continued throughout

15048-569: The livestock. Mentioned in the Brehon Laws , booleying dates back to the Early Medieval period or even earlier. The practice was widespread in the west of Ireland up until the time of the Second World War. Seasonal migration of workers to Scotland and England for the winter months superseded this ancient system, together with more permanent emigration to the United States. In Southern Italy,

15200-529: The local mountain dialect, autumn redyk is called uosod, which comes from the Polish word "uosiadć" (ôsawiedź), to return sheep to individual farms. There is also a theory that it comes from the word uozchod (ôzchod), which means the separation of sheep from individual gazdōwek (farms). In this word, there may have been a complete loss of the pronunciation of ch, which in the Podhale dialect (Poland) in this type of positions

15352-505: The modern meaning of cattle is domesticated bovines , while livestock has a wider sense. United States federal legislation defines the term to make specified agricultural commodities eligible or ineligible for a program or activity. For example, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (P.L. 106–78, Title IX) defines livestock only as cattle, swine, and sheep, while the 1988 disaster assistance legislation defined

15504-510: The most widely held position in the western world, a form of utilitarianism : that it is morally acceptable for humans to use non-human animals, provided that no unnecessary suffering is caused, and that the benefits to humans outweigh the costs to the livestock. An opposing view is that animals have rights , should not be regarded as property, are not necessary to use, and should never be used by humans. Live export of animals has risen to meet increased global demand for livestock such as in

15656-598: The movement of livestock, quarantine restrictions and the reporting of suspected cases. Vaccines are available against certain diseases, and antibiotics are widely used where appropriate. At one time, antibiotics were routinely added to certain compound foodstuffs to promote growth, but this is now considered poor practice in many countries because of the risk that it may lead to antibiotic resistance . Animals living under intensive conditions are particularly prone to internal and external parasites; increasing numbers of sea lice are affecting farmed salmon in Scotland. Reducing

15808-489: The name of a raw milk cow cheese (Hafod). Today, cattle and sheep that summer on many hill farms are still transported to lowland winter pastures, but by truck rather than being driven overland. In many hilly and mountainous areas of Scotland, agricultural workers spent summer months in bothies or shielings ( àirigh or ruighe in Scottish Gaelic ). Major drovers' roads in the eastern part of Scotland include

15960-749: The national diet as it is an outcome of direct impacts of climate on each country. Animal ethics is a branch of ethics that examines human-animal relationships and the moral consideration of non-animals. Debates within the field address the moral implications of using animals for human consumption and the responsibilities humans have toward livestock. It is estimated that worldwide, 74% of livestock are raised in factory farms, characterized by densely confined animals. Consumers are typically against intensive livestock farming when surveyed. A majority are unaware of routine controversial practices such as break trimming, separation of calves from their mothers and gas chamber slaughter. Three quarters of US adults surveyed believed

16112-468: The oldest individual dance – the owiedziok, the owczarza, the kolomajka, the swinszczok, the masztołka. Redyk included many local practices, rituals and celebrations. In modern time it is mainly a part of local traditional entertainment. The modern spring and autumn Redyk (sheep drive) has the character of a folkloric spectacle addressed to locals and tourists, but also to the highlanders themselves, who to identify with their traditions. Sometimes common redyk

16264-501: The overall methane emissions of the planet. Further, livestock production is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide . Since the 18th century, people have become increasingly concerned about the welfare of farm animals . Possible measures of welfare include longevity , behavior , physiology , reproduction , freedom from disease , and freedom from immunosuppression . Standards and laws for animal welfare have been created worldwide, broadly in line with

16416-609: The overall methane emissions of the planet. Livestock are responsible for 34% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide , through feed production and manure..Best production practices are estimated to be able to reduce livestock emissions by 30%. There are numerous interlinked effects of climate change on livestock rearing. This activity is both heavily affected by and a substantial driver of anthropogenic climate change due to its greenhouse gas emissions . As of 2011, some 400 million people relied on livestock in some way to secure their livelihood. The commercial value of this sector

16568-480: The parasite burdens of livestock results in increased productivity and profitability. Where the condition is serious, governments impose regulations on import and export, on the movement of stock, quarantine restrictions and the reporting of suspected cases. Vaccines are available against certain diseases, and antibiotics are widely used where appropriate. At one time, antibiotics were routinely added to certain compound foodstuffs to promote growth, but this practice

16720-469: The parasite burdens of livestock results in increased productivity and profitability. According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land , livestock diseases are expected to get worse as climate change increases temperature and precipitation variability. Since many livestock are herd animals, they were historically driven to market "on the hoof" to a town or other central location. The method

16872-406: The particular traits that suit their circumstances. Whereas in the past cows were kept in small herds on family farms , grazing pastures and being fed hay in winter, nowadays there is a trend towards larger herds, more intensive systems, the feeding of silage and "zero grazing", a system where grass is cut and brought to the cow, which is housed year-round. In many communities, milk production

17024-554: The period. By the 11th century, the economy had recovered and the countryside was again productive. The Domesday Book recorded every parcel of land and every animal in England: "there was not one single hide, nor a yard of land, nay, moreover ... not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in [the king's] writ." For example, the royal manor of Earley in Berkshire , one of thousands of villages recorded in

17176-433: The practice of driving herds to hilly pasture in summer was also known in some parts of the regions l and has had a long-documented history until the 1950s and 1960s with the advent of alternative road transport. Drovers' roads , or tratturi , up to 100 metres (328 ft) wide and more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, permitted the passage and grazing of herds, principally sheep, and attracted regulation by law and

17328-410: The promotion of biodiversity . This strategy is declining in Europe today due to the intensification of agriculture. The mechanized and chemical methods used are causing biodiversity to decline. Traditionally, animal husbandry was part of the subsistence farmer's way of life, producing not only the food needed by the family but also the fuel, fertiliser, clothing, transport and draught power. Killing

17480-547: The raising of livestock . Husbandry has a long history, starting with the Neolithic Revolution when animals were first domesticated , from around 13,000 BC onwards, predating farming of the first crops . During the period of ancient societies like ancient Egypt , cattle , sheep , goats , and pigs were being raised on farms. Major changes took place in the Columbian exchange , when Old World livestock were brought to

17632-1033: The rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated." In practice it can take place in the sea or in freshwater, and be extensive or intensive. Whole bays, lakes or ponds may be devoted to aquaculture, or the farmed animal may be retained in cages (fish), artificial reefs , racks or strings (shellfish). Fish and prawns can be cultivated in rice paddies , either arriving naturally or being introduced, and both crops can be harvested together. Fish hatcheries provide larval and juvenile fish, crustaceans and shellfish, for use in aquaculture systems. When large enough these are transferred to growing-on tanks and sold to fish farms to reach harvest size. Some species that are commonly raised in hatcheries include shrimps , prawns , salmon , tilapia , oysters and scallops . Similar facilities can be used to raise species with conservation needs to be released into

17784-494: The relatively short summer, wind from the Black Sea brings moist air up the steep valleys, which supports fertile grasslands at altitudes up to 2,500 metres (8,202 ft), and a rich tundra at altitudes up to 3,500 metres (11,483 ft). Traditionally, villages were divided into two, three or even four distinct settlements (one for each season) at different heights of a mountain slope. Much of this rural life came to an end during

17936-522: The seasons, between their permanent homes in the valley and one in the foothills. The Qashqai (Kashkai) are a Turkic tribe of southern Iran, who in the mid-20th century still practised transhumance. The tribe was said to have settled in ancient times in the province of Fars , near the Persian Gulf , and by the mid-20th century lived beyond the Makran mountains. In their yearly migrations for fresh pastures,

18088-539: The social, as well as economic, importance of livestock in non-Western countries and in regions of rural poverty, and such evidence is not confined to pastoral and nomadic societies. Social values in developed countries can also be considerable. For example, in a study of livestock ranching permitted on national forest land in New Mexico, US, it was concluded that "ranching maintains traditional values and connects families to ancestral lands and cultural heritage ", and that

18240-793: The south-west, through to the north of England. In the Lake District, hill sheep breeds, such as the Herdwick and Swaledale are moved between moor and valley in summer and winter. This led to a trait and system known as "hefting", whereby sheep and flock remain in the farmer's allotted area (heaf) of the commons, which is still practised. In Ireland, transhumance is known as "booleying". Transhumance pastures were known as buaile , variously anglicised as booley , boley , bouley or boola . These names survive in many place names such as Buaile h'Anraoi in Kilcommon parish, Erris , North Mayo , where

18392-421: The south. The crickets are kept in pens, boxes or drawers and fed on commercial pelleted poultry food, while the palm weevil larvae live on cabbage palm and sago palm trees, which limits their production to areas where these trees grow. Another delicacy of this region is the bamboo caterpillar , and the best rearing and harvesting techniques in semi-natural habitats are being studied. Animal husbandry has

18544-704: The steppes of Central Asia and their domestication began around 3,000 BC in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region. Although horses were originally seen as a source of meat, their use as pack animals and for riding followed. Around the same time, the wild ass was being tamed in Egypt. Camels were domesticated soon after this, with the Bactrian camel in Mongolia and the Arabian camel becoming beasts of burden. By 1000 BC, caravans of Arabian camels were linking India with Mesopotamia and

18696-515: The sublethal impacts, such as lower quantity of quality of products like milk , greater vulnerability to conditions like lameness or even impaired reproduction . Another impact concerns reduced quantity or quality of animal feed , whether due to drought or as a secondary impact of CO2 fertilization effect . Difficulties with growing feed could reduce worldwide livestock headcounts by 7–10% by midcentury. Animal parasites and vector-borne diseases are also spreading further than they had before, and

18848-664: The summer pasture was up in the mountains, the winter pasture in the valleys. Animals can be kept extensively or intensively. Extensive systems involve animals roaming at will, or under the supervision of a herdsman, often for their protection from predators . Ranching in the Western United States involves large herds of cattle grazing widely over public and private lands. Similar cattle stations are found in South America, Australia and other places with large areas of land and low rainfall. Ranching systems have been used for sheep , deer , ostrich , emu , llama and alpaca . In

19000-470: The szalas. The entrance to the hala was also particularly emphasized: there was shooting, honking and shouting all the way. This was intended to drive away evil spirits from their animals and to keep the entire herd together. At the end of the ceremony, there was music and dancing together. The musicians played traditional instruments: gajdas and violins. To the accompaniment of music, the Sałashniks performed

19152-554: The term as "cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (including egg-producing poultry), equine animals used for food or in the production of food, fish used for food, and other animals designated by the Secretary". Deadstock is defined in contradistinction to livestock as "animals that have died before slaughter, sometimes from illness or disease". It is illegal in many countries, such as Canada , to sell or process meat from dead animals for human consumption. Animal-rearing originated during

19304-499: The underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar linguistically. Khazanov categorizes nomadic forms of pastoralism into five groups as follows: "pure pastoral nomadism", "semi-nomadic pastoralism", "semi-sedentary pastoralism", "distant-pastures husbandry" and "seasonal transhumance". Eickelman does not make a distinction between transhumant pastoralism and seminomadism, but he clearly distinguishes between nomadic pastoralism and seminomadism. There

19456-540: The uplands of the United Kingdom, sheep are turned out on the fells in spring and graze the abundant mountain grasses untended, being brought to lower altitudes late in the year, with supplementary feeding being provided in winter. In rural locations, pigs and poultry can obtain much of their nutrition from scavenging, and in African communities, hens may live for months without being fed, and still produce one or two eggs

19608-432: The uplands of the United Kingdom, sheep are turned out on the fells in spring and graze the abundant mountain grasses untended, being brought to lower altitudes late in the year, with supplementary feeding being provided in winter. In rural locations, pigs and poultry can obtain much of their nutrition from scavenging, and in African communities, hens may live for months without being fed, and still produce one or two eggs

19760-480: The valleys and stay at the main house or hendref ( [ˈhɛndrɛv] ). This system of transhumance has generally not been practised for almost a century; it continued in Snowdonia after it ceased elsewhere in Wales, and remnants of the practice can still be found in rural farming communities in the region to this day. Both "Hafod" and "Hendref" survive in Wales as place names and house names and in one case as

19912-540: The valleys. Animals can be kept extensively or intensively. Extensive systems involve animals roaming at will, or under the supervision of a herdsman, often for their protection from predators . Ranching in the Western United States involves large herds of cattle grazing widely over public and private lands. Similar cattle stations are found in South America, Australia and other places with large areas of land and low rainfall. Ranching systems have been used for sheep , deer , ostrich , emu , llama and alpaca . In

20064-568: The whole herd (flock). ) pieces is (what they call "the reading"). The reading is done in such a way that one juhas, holding the chaplet in his hand, puts one bead for each ten sheep counted. The second one takes one sheep from the flock and, as he lets it out of the fenced barracks, counts: one, two, three, etc. up to ten, and after each ten he calls out: "desat" The leading of the sheep was preceded by magical procedures that were supposed to protect them from bad fate and from being enchanted. For this purpose, bonfires were lit and sheep were led through

20216-487: The whole range of available plant material. Cattle, sheep, goats, deer and antelopes are ruminants ; they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way, and then regurgitating the semidigested cud to chew it again and thus extract the maximum possible food value. The dietary needs of these animals is mostly met by eating grass. Grasses grow from the base of the leaf-blade, enabling it to thrive even when heavily grazed or cut. In many climates grass growth

20368-523: The wild long before that. Fixed comb hives are used in many parts of the world and are made from any locally available material. In more advanced economies, where modern strains of domestic bee have been selected for docility and productiveness, various designs of hive are used which enable the combs to be removed for processing and extraction of honey. Quite apart from the honey and wax they produce, honey bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants, and in many places hives are transported around

20520-529: The wild, or game fish for restocking waterways. Important aspects of husbandry at these early stages include selection of breeding stock, control of water quality and nutrition. In the wild, there is a massive amount of mortality at the nursery stage; farmers seek to minimise this while at the same time maximising growth rates. Bees have been kept in hives since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt , five thousand years ago, and man had been harvesting honey from

20672-624: The women. In the autumn after the grain and fruit harvest, livestock are brought back to spend the winter stall-fed in stables. Jammu and Kashmir in India has the world's highest transhumant population as per a survey conducted by a team led by Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, IAS, Secretary to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Tribal Affairs Department. The 1st Survey of Transhumance in 2021 captured details of 6,12,000 members of ethnic tribal communities viz Gujjars , Bakkerwals, Gaddis and Sippis. The survey

20824-521: The world's fresh water, Livestock, and the production of feed for them, occupy about a third of the Earth's ice-free land. Livestock production contributes to species extinction , desertification , and habitat destruction . and is the primary driver of the Holocene extinction . Some 70% of the agricultural land and 30% of Earth's land surface is involved directly or indirectly in animal husbandry. Habitat

20976-517: The world's irrigated systems, and that 300 million draft animals were used globally in small-scale agriculture . Although livestock production serves as a source of income, it can provide additional economic values for rural families, often serving as a major contributor to food security and economic security . Livestock can serve as insurance against risk and is an economic buffer (of income and food supply) in some regions and some economies (e.g., during some African droughts). However, its use as

21128-495: The world's meat is produced from animals grazing on open ranges or on enclosed pastures, the other half being produced intensively in various factory-farming systems; these are mostly cows, pigs or poultry, and often reared indoors, typically at high densities. Poultry, kept for their eggs and for their meat, include chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. The great majority of laying birds used for egg production are chickens. Methods for keeping layers range from free-range systems, where

21280-764: The world, averaging about 8% of man's energy intake. The actual types eaten depend on local preferences, availability, cost and other factors, with cattle, sheep, pigs and goats being the main species involved. Cattle generally produce a single offspring annually which takes more than a year to mature; sheep and goats often have twins and these are ready for slaughter in less than a year; pigs are more prolific, producing more than one litter of up to about 11 piglets each year. Horses, donkeys, deer, buffalo, llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas are farmed for meat in various regions. Some desirable traits of animals raised for meat include fecundity, hardiness, fast growth rate, ease of management and high food conversion efficiency. About half of

21432-1016: The world. Insect farming , as well as aquaculture of fish , molluscs , and crustaceans , is widespread. Modern animal husbandry relies on production systems adapted to the type of land available. Subsistence farming is being superseded by intensive animal farming in the more developed parts of the world, where, for example, beef cattle are kept in high-density feedlots , and thousands of chickens may be raised in broiler houses or batteries . On poorer soil, such as in uplands, animals are often kept more extensively and may be allowed to roam widely, foraging for themselves. Animal agriculture at modern scale drives climate change , ocean acidification , and biodiversity loss . Most livestock are herbivores , except for pigs and chickens which are omnivores . Ruminants like cattle and sheep are adapted to feed on grass; they can forage outdoors or may be fed entirely or in part on rations richer in energy and protein, such as pelleted cereals. Pigs and poultry cannot digest

21584-835: The year, silage or hay is made to cover the times of year when the grass stops growing, and fertiliser, feed and other inputs are bought onto the farm from outside. Livestock farmers have often dealt with natural world animals' predation and theft by rustlers . In North America, animals such as gray wolves , grizzly bears , cougars , and coyotes are sometimes considered a threat to livestock. In Eurasia and Africa, predators include wolves, leopards , tigers , lions , dholes , Asiatic black bears , crocodiles , spotted hyenas , and other carnivores . In South America, feral dogs , jaguars , anacondas , and spectacled bears are threats to livestock. In Australia, dingoes , foxes , and wedge-tailed eagles are common predators, with an additional threat from domestic dogs who may kill in response to

21736-531: The year, silage or hay is made to cover the times of year when the grass stops growing, and fertiliser, feed, and other inputs are brought onto the farm from outside. Animals used as livestock are predominantly herbivorous , the main exceptions being the pig and the chicken which are omnivorous. The herbivores can be divided into "concentrate selectors" which selectively feed on seeds, fruits and highly nutritious young foliage, "grazers" which mainly feed on grass, and "intermediate feeders" which choose their diet from

21888-443: The yield of the various commercial outputs, but also negatively impacts animal welfare , the environment , and public health . In particular, beef, dairy and sheep are an outsized source of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture . The word livestock was first used between 1650 and 1660, as a compound word combining the words "live" and "stock". In some periods, " cattle " and "livestock" have been used interchangeably. Today,

22040-476: Was carried out for development and welfare planning for these communities notified as Scheduled tribes under the Constitution of India . Subsequent to the survey a number of flagship initiatives were launched by the Government for their welfare and development especially in sectors like healthcare, veterinary services, education, livelihood and transportation support for migration. Transhumance in Jammu and Kashmir

22192-526: Was common throughout most of Norway, due to its highly mountainous nature and limited areas of lowland for cultivation. The Gudbrandsdal area includes lateral valleys such as Gausdal , Heidal , Vinstra , and Ottadalen . This area comprises lowland parishes 200 m above sea-level and mountain parishes 800 m above sea-level, fertile soil in the main valley and barren summits in Rondane and Dovrefjell. Forests surround those farms, but higher up, woods give way to

22344-417: Was driven by the need to have food on hand when hunting was unproductive. The desirable characteristics of a domestic animal are that it should be useful to the domesticator, should be able to thrive in his or her company, should breed freely, and be easy to tend. Domestication was not a single event, but a process repeated at various periods in different places. Sheep and goats were the animals that accompanied

22496-504: Was improved by Bakewell and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New (or Dishley) Leicester. It was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. These sheep were exported widely and have contributed to numerous modern breeds. Under his influence, English farmers began to breed cattle for use primarily as beef. Long-horned heifers were crossed with

22648-523: Was once very common in the Carpathians. (Carpathian transhumance agriculture). In the pastoral culture in Poland, Redyk was perceived as the greatest village festival. Farmers who gave their sheep to a shepherd for the entire season, before grazing in the pastures, listed them (most often by marking them with notches on the shepherd's stick, stick or beam), marked them and placed them in a basket made of tynin. In

22800-534: Was organised also in Czechia, Slovakia and Romania. In Poland, the organisers was the Transhumant Pastoral Foundation. In most parts of Wales , farm workers and sometimes the farmer would spend the summer months at a hillside summer house, or hafod ( pronounced [ˈhavɔd] ), where the livestock would graze. During the late autumn the farm family and workers would drive the flocks down to

22952-519: Was part of the subsistence farmer's way of life, producing not only the food needed by the family but also the fuel, fertiliser, clothing, transport and draught power. Killing the animal for food was a secondary consideration, and wherever possible their products, such as wool, eggs, milk and blood (by the Maasai ) were harvested while the animal was still alive. In the traditional system of transhumance , humans and livestock moved seasonally between fixed summer and winter pastures; in montane regions

23104-540: Was traced back to pigs becoming ill after contact with fruit-eating flying foxes , their faeces and urine. The pigs in turn passed the infection to humans. Avian flu H5N1 is present in wild bird populations and can be carried large distances by migrating birds. This virus is easily transmissible to domestic poultry, and to humans living in close proximity with them. Other infectious diseases affecting wild animals, farm animals and humans include rabies , leptospirosis , brucellosis , tuberculosis and trichinosis . There

#335664