AbstractBackgroundGrowing global demand for meat and milk has fuelled an increase in the trade in animal products, but there is still little awareness of the magnitude and characteristics of the trade in live animals. In this study, we investigated the international trade of 12 live food‐producing animal species, including poultry (‘chickens’, ‘ducks’, ‘geese’ and ‘turkeys’), ruminants (‘cattle’, ‘sheep’, ‘goats’, ‘camels’ and ‘buffalo’), pigs and ‘other’ food‐producing animals (‘rabbits and hares’ and ‘horses’) as reported to the FAOStat database between 2005 and 2021.ResultsThe analysis revealed that international trade in most species had increased over the study period. Chickens were numerically the most traded species with an average of 1.4 billion live chickens internationally traded annually. Live export of chickens demonstrated the greatest growth over the study period, with an estimated additional 58 million animals traded each year. Intercontinental trade was also substantial, contributing to 10% or more of the international trade in eight of the 12 species. Many countries were also bidirectional traders for multiple species. The Netherlands, Germany and Poland were among both the highest importers and highest exporters for multiple species between 2019 and 2021.ConclusionThis study provides valuable insight on the scale and trends in the international trade in livestock to inform regulations and practices that might be needed to mitigate potential threats associated with livestock movements, including disease emergence and spread, poor animal welfare, antimicrobial resistance and environmental degradation, while supporting demands and need for livestock‐based foods.
Read full abstract- All Solutions
Editage
One platform for all researcher needs
Paperpal
AI-powered academic writing assistant
R Discovery
Your #1 AI companion for literature search
Mind the Graph
AI tool for graphics, illustrations, and artwork
Unlock unlimited use of all AI tools with the Editage Plus membership.
Explore Editage Plus - Support
Overview
405 Articles
Published in last 50 years
Articles published on Livestock Trade
Authors
Select Authors
Journals
Select Journals
Duration
Select Duration
372 Search results
Sort by Recency