Livestock
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Livestock – Business
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History Animal rearing has its origins in the transition of cultures to settled farming communities rather than hunter gatherer lifestyles Animals are omesticated when their breeding and living conditions are controlled by humans Over time the collective behaviour life cycle and physiology of livestock have changed radically Many modern farm animals are unsuited to life in the wild Dogs were domesticated in East Asia about 15 000 years ago Goats and sheep were domesticated around 8000 BCE in Asia Swine or pigs were domesticated by 7000 BCE in the Middle East and China The earliest evidence of horse domestication dates to around 4000 BCE Older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible refer to livestock in general as cattle as opposed to the word deer which then was used for wild animals which were not owned The word cattle is derived from Middle English chatel which meant all kinds of movable personal property including of course livestock which was differentiated from non movable real estate In later English sometimes smaller livestock was called small cattle in that sense of movable property on land which was not automatically bought or sold with the land Today the modern meaning of cattle without a qualifier usually refers to domesticated bovines see Cattle citation needed Other species of the genus Bos sometimes are called wild cattle Types The term livestock is nebulous and may be defined narrowly or broadly On a broader view livestock refers to any breed or population of animal kept by humans for a useful commercial purpose This can mean domestic animals semi domestic animals or captive wild animals Semi domesticated refers to animals which are only lightly domesticated or of disputed status These populations may also be in the process of domestication Some people may use the term livestock to refer just to domestic animals or even just to red meat animals Animal Type Domestication Status Wild Ancestor Time of first Captivity Domestication Area of first Captivity Domestication Current Commercial Uses Alpaca Mammal herbivore domestic Vicua Between 5000 BC and 4000 BC Andes wool Bison Mammal herbivore captive see also Beefalo N A Late 19th Century North America meat leather Camel Mammal herbivore domestic Wild Dromedary and Bactrian camels Between 4000 BC and 1400 BC Asia mount pack animal meat dairy camel hair Cattle Mammal herbivore domestic Aurochs extinct 6000 BC Southwest Asia India North Africa Meat beef veal blood dairy leather draught Deer Mammal herbivore captive N A 1970 North America Meat venison leather antlers antler velvet Dog Mammal omnivore domestic Wolf 12000 BC pack animal draught hunting herding searching gathering watching guarding meat Donkey Mammal herbivore domestic African Wild Ass 4000 BC Egypt mount pack animal draught meat dairy Goat Mammal herbivore domestic Bezoar goat 8000 BC Southwest Asia Dairy meat wool leather light draught Guinea pig Mammal herbivore domestic Cavia tschudii 5000 BC South America Meat Llama Mammal herbivore domestic Guanaco 3500 BC Andes light mount pack animal draught meat wool Mule Mammal herbivore domestic Sterile hybrid of donkey and horse mount pack animal draught Pig Mammal omnivore domestic Wild boar 7000 BC Eastern Anatolia Meat pork bacon etc leather Rabbit Mammal herbivore domestic Wild rabbit between AD 400 900 France Meat fur Reindeer Mammal herbivore semi domestic reindeer 3000 BC Northern Russia Meat leather antlers dairy draught Sheep Mammal herbivore domestic Asiatic mouflon sheep Between 9000 BC 11000 BC Southwest Asia Wool dairy leather meat mutton and lamb Domestic Asian Water buffalo Mammal herbivore domestic Wild Asian Water buffalo Arni 4000 BC South Asia mount draught meat dairy Yak Mammal herbivore domestic Wild yak Tibet Nepal Meat dairy wool mount pack animal draught Animal rearing A Brown Swiss cow in the Swiss Alps ivestock are defined in part by their end purpose as the production of food or fibre or labour The economic value of livestock includes Meat the production of a useful form of dietary protein and energy Dairy products Mammalian livestock can be used as a source of milk which can in turn easily be processed into other dairy products such as yogurt cheese butter ice cream kefir and kumis Using livestock for this purpose can often yield several times the food energy of slaughtering the animal outright Fibre Livestock produce a range of fibre textiles For example sheep and goats produce wool and mohair cows deer and sheep skins can be made into leather and bones hooves and horns of livestock can be used Fertilizer Manure can be spread on fields to increase crop yields This is an important reason why historically plant and animal domestication have been intimately linked Manure is also used to make plaster for walls and floors and can be used as a fuel for fires The blood and bone of animals are also used as fertilizer Labour Animals such as horses donkey and yaks can be used for mechanical energy Prior to steam power livestock were the only available source of non human labour They are still used for this purpose in many places of the world including ploughing fields transporting goods and military functions Land management The grazing of livestock is sometimes used as a way to control weeds and undergrowth For example in areas prone to wild fires goats and sheep are set to graze on dry scrub which removes combustible material and reduces the risk of fires During the history of animal husbandry many secondary products have arisen in an attempt to increase carcass utilization and reduce waste For example animal offal and non edible parts may be transformed into products such as pet food and fertilizer In the past such waste products were sometimes also fed to livestock as well However intra species recycling poses a disease risk threatening animal and even human health see bovine spongiform encephalopathy BSE scrapie and prion Due primarily to BSE mad cow disease feeding animal scraps to animals has been banned in many countries at least in regards to ruminants and pigs Farming practices Goat family with 1 week old young Main article animal husbandry Farming practices vary dramatically worldwide and between types of animals Livestock are generally kept in an enclosure are fed by human provided food citation needed and are intentionally bred but some livestock are not enclosed or are fed by access to natural foods or are allowed to breed freely or any combination thereof Livestock raising historically was part of a nomadic or pastoral form of material culture The herding of camels and reindeer in some parts of the world remains unassociated with sedentary agriculture The transhumance form of herding in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California still continues as cattle sheep or goats are moved from winter pasture in lower elevation valleys to spring pasture and summer pasture in the foothills and alpine regions as the seasons progress Cattle were raised on the open range in the Western United States and Canada on the Pampas of Argentina and other prairie and steppe regions of the world The enclosure of livestock in pastures and barns is a relatively new development in the history of agriculture When cattle are enclosed the type of nclosure may vary from a small crate a large fenced pasture or a paddock The type of feed may vary from natural growing grass to highly sophisticated processed feed Animals are usually intentionally bred through artificial insemination or through supervised mating Indoor production systems are generally used only for pigs and poultry as well as for veal cattle Indoor animals are generally farmed intensively as large space requirements would make indoor farming unprofitable and impossible However indoor farming systems are controversial due to the waste they produce odour problems the potential for groundwater contamination and animal welfare concerns For further discussion on intensively farmed livestock see factory farming and intensive pig farming Other livestock are farmed outside although the size of enclosure and level of supervision may vary In large open ranges animals may be only occasionally inspected or yarded in round ups or a muster livestock Working dogs such as sheep dogs and cattle dogs citation needed may be used for mustering livestock as are cowboys stockmen and jackaroos on horses or with vehicles and also by helicopters Since the advent of barbed wire in the 1870s and electric fence technology fencing pastures has become much more feasible and pasture management simplified Rotation of pasturage is a modern technique for improving nutrition and health while avoiding environmental damage to the land In some cases very large numbers of animals may be kept in indoor or outdoor feeding operations on feedlots where the animals feed is processed offsite or onsite and stored on site then fed to the animals Livestock especially cattle may be branded to indicate ownership and age but in modern farming identification is more likely to be indicated by means of ear tags than branding Sheep are also frequently marked by means of ear marks and or ear tags As fears of mad cow disease and other epidemic illnesses mount the use of microchip identification to monitor and trace animals in the food production system is increasingly common and sometimes required by governmental regulations Modern farming techniques seek to minimize human involvement increase yield and improve animal health Economics quality and consumer safety all play a role in how animals are raised Drug use and feed supplements or even feed type may be regulated or prohibited to ensure yield is not increased at the expense of consumer health safety or animal welfare Practices vary around the world for example growth hormone use is permitted in the United States but not in stock to be sold to the European Union The improvement of health using modern farming techniques on the part of animals has come into question Feeding corn to cattle which have historically eaten grasses is an example where the cattle are less adapted the rumen pH changes to more acidic leading to liver damage and other difficulties citation needed The US F D A still allows feedlots to feed nonruminant animal proteins to cattle For example feeding chicken manure and poultry meal is acceptable for cattle and beef or pork meat and bone meal is being fed to chickens Predation Livestock farmers had suffered from wild animal predation and theft by rustlers In North America gray wolf grizzly bear cougar black bear and coyote are sometimes considered a threat to livestock In Eurasia and Africa wolf brown bear leopard tiger lion dhole black bear spotted hyena and others caused livestock deaths In Australia the dingo foxes wedge tailed eagles hunting and domestic dogs especially cause problems for graziers because they often kill for fun citation needed In Latin America feral dogs cause livestock deaths in nightfall They blame maned wolves cougars jaguars and spectacled bears for livestock deaths Disease Livestock diseases compromise animal welfare reduce productivity and in rare cases can infect humans Animal diseases may be tolerated reduced through animal husbandry or reduced through antibiotics and vaccines In developing countries animal diseases are tolerated in animal husbandry resulting in considerably reduced productivity especially given the low health status of many developing country herds Disease management for gains in productivity is often the first step taken in implementing an agriculture policy Disease management can be achieved through changes in animal husbandry These measures may aim to control spread using biosecurity measures such as controlling animal mixing controlling entry to farm lots and the use of protective clothing and quarantining sick animals Diseases also may be controlled by the use of vaccines and antibiotics Antibiotics in sub therapeutic doses may also be used as a growth promoter increasing growth by 10 15 The issue of antibiotic resistance has limited the practices of preventative dosing such as antibiotic laced feed Countries will often require the use of veterinary certificates before transporting selling or showing animals Disease free areas often rigorously enforce rules for entry of potentially diseased animals including quarentine Transportation and marketing Main article Livestock transportation Grass fed cattle saleyards Walcha NSW Since many livestock are herd animals they were historically driven to market on the hoof to a town or other central location During the period after the American Civil War the abundance of Longhorn cattle in Texas and the demand for beef in Northern markets led to the implementation of the Old West cattle drive The method is still used in some parts of the world Truck transport is now common in developed countries Local and regional livestock auctions and commodity markets facilitate trade in livestock In other areas livestock may be bought and sold in a bazaar such as may be found in many parts of Central Asia or a flea market type setting Stock shows and fairs are events where people bring their best livestock to compete with one another Organizations like 4 H Block Bridle and FFA encourage young people to raise livestock for show purposes Special feeds are purchased and hours may be spent prior to the show grooming the animal to look its best In cattle sheep and swine shows the winning animals are frequently auctioned off to the highest bidder and the funds are placed into a scholarship fund for its owner The movie Grand Champion released in 2004 is the story of a young Texas boy s experience raising a prize steer Animal welfare The issue of raising livestock for human benefit raises the issue of the relationship between humans and animals in terms of the status of animals and obligations of people Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals under human care should be treated in such a way that
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