More than 1 billion sheep are found in the world today, and they occur on all inhabited continents. Ovines are found in the hottest countries, such as
Somalia and Sudan, but there are also large herds in cold, windswept lands near Antarctica, such as Patagonia in southern Argentina and the Falklands (Malvinas), and on the fringes of the Arctic, as in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Depending on the area, plains, plateaus, and mountains can all support sheep populations. Tolerance for hot, cold, dry, and wet conditions, along with an absence of any cultural prejudice against the animal and its multifaceted uses, account for its wide distribution.
Asia has about a third of the world’s sheep, with especially large populations in China (mainly west and north), Iran, India, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. Africa’s sheep are found in all countries of that continent and, in the northern, western, and eastern parts, are often associated with nomadic, seminomadic, or transhu-mant groups. As a country (though not as a continent), Australia has, without question, the largest sheep population. Sheep are also the kingpin of agropastoralism in New Zealand, where the sheep-human ratio is among the highest in the world.
Europe (west and east combined) has about as many sheep as Australia. The superhumid United Kingdom and subhumid Spain have the largest ovine populations in the European Union. South America has more than five times as many sheep as North and Middle America taken together. Sheep are the most important domesticated animal in the high Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, where the cold climate and a homespun tradition make wool an especially valuable product. But 5 million sheep are also found in hot northeastern Brazil, where wool has little value. Much farther south, commercial wool production is important in temperate southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. The pastoralists of tiny Uruguay, which has about the same number of sheep as the United States, have long grazed sheep and cattle together.
Multispecies grazing in Uruguay contrasts with the conflictive tradition in western North America, where sheepmen and cattlemen pitted themselves against one another in a struggle for domination of the range. Since 1942, the rise of synthetic fibers, a shortage of skilled labor, and the increased cost of land have together forced a decline in the sheep industry in the United States. Nevertheless, entrepreneurial sheep raising on federally owned expanses still constitutes an important use of land in parts of the arid West.
Live sheep also find their way into world trade. Nigeria, Senegal, Kuwait, and especially Saudi Arabia import large numbers of them to be slaughtered in prescribed Islamic fashion. Movements of live sheep from Australia to Saudi Arabia are particularly large, enabling the faithful to satisfy their obligation of dispatching a sacrificial animal during the pilgrimage to Mecca. Normally, more than 1 million sheep are sacrificed each year for this purpose. Much of this slaughter, which wastes the meat, occurs in five abattoirs in Mina, near Mecca (Brooke 1987).
The long-term future of sheep raising in the world appears bright. Ruminant animals possess a keen advantage in being able to make use of arid or steep lands that cannot be cultivated. Sheep are productive, adaptable, and largely noncompetitive with humans. More than any other domesticate, their dual contributions of food and fiber give sheep an economic edge that spreads the risk of keeping them. And, finally, there are no cultural barriers to constrain their use.
Daniel W Gade
Bibliography
Brooke, Clarke. 1987. Sacred slaughter: The sacrificing of animals at the hajj and Id al-Adha. Journal of Cultural Geography 7: 67-88.
Crouse, John D. 1983. The effects of breed, sex, slaughter weight and age on lamb flavor. Food Technology 72: 264-8.
Epstein, H. 1971. The origin of the domestic animals of Africa. New York.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 1995. FAO yearbook. Rome.
Mason, I. L. 1980. Sheep and goat production in the drought polygon of northeast Brazil. World Animal Review 34: 23-8.
Melville, Elinor E. K. 1994. A plague of sheep: Environmental consequences of the conquest of Mexico. New York.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). 1987. Food consumption, prices and expenditures. Statistical Bulletin No. 749, USDA Economic Research Service. Washington, D. C.
World History
