Abstract

The 60th anniversary of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production is an appropriate occasion on which to acknowledge the massive contribution that animal products have made to the New Zealand economy. Maori used products from kiore and dogs as well as wildlife and fish. The first Europeans started with whaling and sealing, then moved to wool production before freezers on ships opened up world meat markets. More recently dairying and fishing have boomed and chicken, meat and egg, pork and deer industries have arisen. Add goat, ostrich, mussels, possums etc and you have a long, varied list of species and products. However it is the products from grazing sheep and cattle that have provided the bulk of New Zealand’s export earnings over the last one hundred and fifty years. They continue to dominate to this day …

AR, Bray

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 61, Christchurch, 1-3, 2001