Abstract

Pastoral-based animal industries utilise only a handful of domesticated species. The relatively recent development of farming "game" species (i.e., species traditionally harvested by hunting) has been largely prompted by changing first-world consumer demographics. Pastoral farming of red deer in NZ is often seen as a glowing example of diversification away from traditional livestock. In tropical regions, specific species adapted to local climate, vegetation and diseases include axis deer, sambar deer and rusa deer. In the arctic regions, reindeer are the species of choice due to their cold tolerance and food selection habits. Various species (e.g., antelope, buffalo, elephants, zebra, etc) form the basis of a growing game ranching industry in the dry savannah regions of Africa, structured around sustainable, low-density, multi-species grazing of rangelands that are generally unsuited to domestic livestock due to aridity or parasites/diseases (e.g., tsetse fly). Thus, there are many examples of successfully picking "horses for courses" ... game species suited to particular environments. Conversely, there is a danger that in the enthusiasm to promulgate particular systems around the world, there are occasions when "horses are on the wrong courses". Classic examples for this include attempts to farm (1) tropical species in temperate environments, (2) temperate species in tropical environments, and (3) species behaviourally and physiologically misaligned with pastoral environments.

GW, Asher, and AJ Pearse

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 61, Christchurch, 38-41, 2001