Sheep in New Zealand now outnumber people by six to one – but numbers at lowest in 75 years
As a desperately nervous England fan I wonder if they might take a leaf out of the All Black’s demographic and train in those areas with the highest ratio of sheep to people. It might help them escape the group of death they have been draw in for the rugby world cup. This story tells us:
The number of sheep in New Zealand has dropped to the lowest on record since the Second World War – at 29.6 million.
Sheep were first introduced to New Zealand in 1773 by British explorer Captain James Cook and later by missionary Samuel Marsden.
The rapid sheep population growth that occurred in the 1850s and 1860s was largely a result of permanent immigration, according to figures from the New Zealand government.
The animals now outnumber people living there at a ratio of six to one, but numbers have been declining since their peak in 1982.
To put the drop in perspective, in that year New Zealand had 70.3 million sheep and a population of 3.18 million people – the equivalent of 22 sheep per person.