How to Do Animal Rights - & Win the War on Animals

How to Do Animal Rights - & Win the War on Animals
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 Chapter Sections

 1. Summary

 2. Chickens

 3. Pigs

 4. Beef Cattle

 5. Fish

 6. Meat Consumption

 7. Fur-bearers

 8. Experimental Animals 		 
How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals



Chapter 7


Animal Numbers Raised & Killed


4. Beef Cattle

Domestic Cattle


Summary

  • People keep about 1,300,000,000 beef cattle worldwide (note: not dairy cattle) (Table 1).
  • Over half the world's beef cattle live in three countries: India, Brazil and China (Table 1).
  • People kill about 300 million beef cattle annually worldwide (Table 2).
  • Half the world's beef cattle are killed in three countries: India, Brazil and China (Table 2).
  • The total number of beef cattle people kill worldwide is increasing by about four million annually (Table 2).



    • Cattle

    Table 1. Number of Beef Cattle People Keep Worldwide.
    Top ten countries & Worldwide, 2003 to 2008.
    Figures are in millions.
      2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
    India 341 339 339 339 339 339
    Brazil 206 212 218 226 235 245
    China Republic 182 189 195 198 199 202
    United States 124 132 133 134 134 134
    European Union - 27 125 123 122 120 119 118
    Argentina 65 66 65 65 67 67
    Australia 37 37 37 38 38 38
    Mexico 36 36 35 35 34 34
    Russian Federation 32 31 29 27 26 26
    Canada 19 20 20 20 19 19
    Others 102 98 94 94 92 85
    World Total 1,280 1,282 1,288 1,297 1,304 1,307
    Source. Based on 'Live Cattle Selected Countries Summary'. 'Total Cattle Beginning Stocks' plus 'Production (Calf Crop)' In Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade. United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, Office of Global Analysis. Circular Series DL&P 2-07 November 2007. www.fas.usda.gov (accessed February 2008).

    Notes for Table 1

    The source for this table is the USDA, who state their data are based on "USDA-FAS attaché reports, official statistics, and results of office research". USDA say the cattle are adults and calves raised for meat and exclude dairy cattle but include buffalo for India. The USDA figures for 2007 are preliminary and are estimates for 2008.

    USDA data included two classes of cattle: 'Total Beginning Stocks' and 'Production Crop'. Total Beginning Stocks are the animals alive at the start of the year and most of these animals are used to breed the Production Crop for the year. Virtually all the Production Stock is killed for food (some would replace Beginning Stock). The figures in this table include both categories.

    The World Total in this table is a minimum figure. One reason is that the original USDA data do not include every country, although they do include the world's major animal producing countries. Furthermore, the USDA figures are based on cattle who are officially counted (eg at farms and slaughterhouses). Cattle slaughtered outside official premises may not be counted. For example, non-walking cattle (ie "non-ambulatory" cattle, too injured to walk) may be killed before they get to the slaughterhouse and not counted. In the US alone, non-walking cattle totalled 465,000 in 2003, including 185,000 calves, and 450,000 in 2004, including 180,000 calves ('calves' in this case being cattle under 230 kg / 500 lbs).

    Livestock are impossible to count accurately. Therefore I round these figures to the nearest million to avoid spurious accuracy and totals do not necessarily add up exactly.

    How reliable are USDA statistics? Much the same number of cattle and the same top ten countries are found in another USDA table (Table 7-5. Cattle and buffalo: Number in specified countries, 2002–2005, Agricultural Statistics, United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2007. Accessed February 2008.), but the number of cattle is slightly less, totalling around a billion cattle kept annually worldwide. Thus USDA statistics may be acceptably reliable given that the actual number of cattle worldwide cannot be counted accurately.


    Cattle

    Table 2. Number of Beef Cattle People Kill Worldwide.
    Top ten countries & Worldwide, 2003 to 2008.
    Figures are in millions.
      2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
    China 52 54 57 58 60 62
    Brazil 45 46 48 52 54 58
    India 55 56 56 57 57 57
    United State 38 38 38 38 37 37
    European Union - 27 33 32 32 30 30 30
    Argentina 14 15 15 16 15 15
    Australia 9 10 10 10 10 10
    Mexico 7 7 8 8 8 8
    Russian Federation 9 8 8 8 7 7
    Canada 6 5 6 5 5 5
    Others 24 23 23 23 23 21
    World Total 292 296 301 304 308 312
    Source. Based on Live Cattle Selected Countries Summary. Production (Calf Crop). In Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade. United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, Office of Global Analysis. Circular Series DL&P 2-07 November 2007. www.fas.usda.gov (accessed February 2008).

    Notes for Table 2

    The notes for Table 1 also apply to this table. Cattle numbers in this table are only the 'Production Crop' (see Notes for Table 1).



    How to Do Animal Rights - and Win the War on Animals.

    © Roger (Ben) Panaman, April 2008. All rights reserved.