I took this post’s photo on a 2019 New Zealand autumn afternoon, whilst overlooking Otago’s Lake Hawea.
You may find it hard to imagine a more “idyllic” location for sheep, grazing.
New Zealand’s sheep numbers peaked in 1982; at 70 million, they outnumbered their human compatriots by a ratio of rather more than 20 to 1!
Questions:
What is NZ’s current ratio of sheep to humans?
Has NZ retained its “traditional” status as the world’s most “sheepish” nation?
Answers:
New Zealand’s sheep population has plummeted.
The nation’s sheep-to-humans ratio is but a small shadow of its former self.
In 2023 – for the first time in its statistical history – sheep outnumbered humans by a ratio of less than 5:1.
That ratio is still falling, as is the absolute number of sheep.
The same is true in Australia.
Australian sheep now outnumber Australian humans by not much more than 2:1.
Among independent nations, Mongolia’s sheep now lead the world; they outnumber Mongolian humans by a ratio generally reckoned to be greater than 6:1.
Among “territories”, The Falklands/Malvinas has the “gold medal” sheep; they outnumber local humans by a ratio of circa 140:1.
If there were a gold medal for “the nation which has the most scenic/grand landscapes in which “domesticated” animals contentedly graze”, NZ would be a credible contender.
However, as this series’ next chapter will illustrate, there are other contenders.
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