Livestock

Livestock showroom

livestock, farm animals, with the exception of poultry. In Western countries the category encompasses primarily cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, and mules; other animals, such as buffalo, oxen, llamas, or camels, may predominate in the agriculture of other areas. By the 21st century, livestock made up slightly more than ¹/₉ of all vertebrate biomass. Estimates suggest that the mass of Earth’s livestock, some 100 million metric tons (about 110 million tons), is more than that of human beings, wild birds, and wild mammals put together.

Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals who are raised for consumption, and sometimes used to refer solely to farmed ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.^[1] Horses are considered livestock in the United States.^[2] The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb (mutton) as livestock, and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category.^[3]

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.^[4] Intensive animal farming increases the yield of the various commercial outputs, but also negatively impacts animal welfare, the environment, and public health.^[5] In particular, beef, dairy and sheep are an outsized source of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.