The farming of "game" species .... "horses for courses"
G.W. ASHER AND A.J. PEARSE
AgResearch, Invermay Agricultural Centre, Private Bag 50034,
Mosgiel, New Zealand
E-Mail:
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 2001. 61:
38-41
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.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
game farming; deer; antelope, venison
Last Updated 7/08/01
