Question

Write a note on Sheep Rearing system in Australia ?

Answer 1

Sheep are an important source of mutton and wool in the country. With about 4 per cent of the world’s sheep population India occupies sixth place at global level in respect of sheep number.

The country had 39.05 million sheep in 1951 which increased to 57.49 million in 1997 showing a per­centage increase of 47 during last 46 years. The total production of raw wool in 2001-02 was 49.9 thou­sand tonnes. The average yield of wool per sheep is about 1 kg (cf. 3-15 kg in Australia and elsewhere).

In India sheep areas are mainly found in low rainfall zones of the plateaus and hills. Rajasthan accounts for one-fourth of the total sheep population of the country followed by Andhra Pradesh (16.95%), Karnataka (13.92%), Tamil Nadu (9.15%) and Maharashtra (5.86%).

These five states together support 71 per cent of the total sheep of the country. In terms of wool production Rajasthan occupies the foremost place (39.47%), followed by Jammu and Kashmir (13%), Karnataka (11.6%) and Andhra Pradesh (7%). The Indian wool is inferior to Aus­tralia and South Africa in quality and is called coarse carpet wool.

It is classified into various groups like Joria, Bikaneri, Harnai, Rajputana, Bibrik Beawar and Mewar. If 2003-04 India imported 84.6 thou­sand tons of raw wool worth of Rs. 871 crores from Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Nepal and central Asian countries (cf. 1,900 tones worth of Rs. 1 crore in 1960-61). Besides, it also exports small quantity of raw wool to the U.S.A. and U.K.

Distribution

In India sheep are mainly raised in dry, hilly and rugged areas not suitable for agricultural pur­poses. There are three main areas of sheep rearing in the country