Wellington, New Zealand (AP)-The large number of sheep in New Zealand compared to the country's unruption has long been the subject of jokes intended for New Zealanders abroad. It is true: the country is part of a handful in the world which still houses more sheep than people.
But humans catch up, according to new figures published on Tuesday. With a population of 23.6 million sheep and 5.3 million people, there are approximately 4.5 sheep for each New Zealand, according to data from the Government Statistics Agency.
It was down 22 sheep per person in 1982, when agricultural sheep for meat and wool were the largest employee in New Zealand. Now, years of lower wool prices have caused a global transition to synthetic fibers have led farmers to change what they are doing with their land, said the largest lobby group in the sector.
A narrowing herd
By the area, New Zealand is roughly the size of the United Kingdom, but it has a human population 13 times smaller than the United Kingdom, which means that there is a lot of space for sheep.
For almost 150 years, the sheep industry was the backbone of the New Zealand economy and the number appeared – culminating in 1982 when there were more than 70 million sheep and only 3.2 million people. Before the “Lord of the Rings” brings waves of tourists in the country, images of green fields filled with placid sheep against the snowy mountain sets dominated the marketing of the country abroad.
But during the years of decline for world wool prices since – and despite the recent rallies – the national herd has regularly decreased. Now Dairy has the largest share of the predominantly agricultural and home export market in New Zealand.
Farmers try something new
In 2023, Stats NZ, a government agency, said that New Zealand in 2022 was below five sheep per person for the first time. The national herd had lost one million more sheep on Tuesday figures, which recorded the number of cattle in June 2024.
Toby Williams, spokesperson for the sector's lobby group, said sheep farmers have gone to more lucrative activities – dairy products, or the conversion of agriculture in pine forestry in order to sell carbon compensations.
“If I am really honest, the wool industry is almost at this tilting point, if not already there, to no longer have a wool industry,” he said.
Measures to strengthen wool
The government has established measures intended to slow down the decline, including an announcement in 2024 according to which it will limit the limits of the agricultural land scale which can be converted to carbon forestry.
The new government directives of purchases launched in April urges the use of New Zealand wool products – such as carpets and insulation – in newly constructed or renovated public buildings. But these measures should not stop the drop in the number of sheep.
Some staple countries record similar trends. The closest neighbor to New Zealand, Australia – the source of most sheep jokes on New Zealanders – also houses more sheep than people, but the national herd is also shrinking.
The gap is thinner: there are about three sheep per Australian.
