Livestock resources: population size and distribution

In the Northern Areas livestock consists of cattle, some buffaloes, sheep, goats and camels. Furthermore there are also pack animals such as horses, donkeys and mules. Domestic poultry is also present in these areas. These animals are basically reared for a range of purposes: milk, meat, wool, hair, eggs, dung and for traction. Many farmers use livestock as sources of income. Cattle, goats and sheep are the predominant livestock but there are also significant numbers of buffaloes, donkeys, yaks and horses as well as small numbers of camels and mules and yak-cattle cross breeds. The livestock number in Northern Areas is 1.7 million if poultry is excluded. Livestock diversity in Northern Areas is as follows:

Table . Livestock diversity in Northern Areas

Source: Virk, A.T., K.M. Sheikh and A.H. Marwat. 2003. NASSD Background Paper: Biodiversity, IUCN Pakistan, Northern Areas Program, Gilgit.

Livestock population of the Northern Areas for the year 1996 was converted into animal units. The result for different livestock species are indicated below:

Table . Population (000s) and animal units for different livestock species in 1996

The district-wise distribution of livestock in the Northern Areas is shown in the following table.

Table . Distribution of livestock in Northern Areas (000s)

The following table shows the data on livestock population changes in the Northern Areas over a twenty year period. The per annum growth rate (%) for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels, horses, donkeys and mules were 4.52, 5.46, 3.06, 4.31, 24.37, 0.72, 0.25 and 20.39 respectively during the period 1976-96.

Table: Changes in livestock population (000 heads) during 1976-96

Source for Tables 24, 25 &26: Khan, A. G. 2003. NASSD Background Paper on Rangelands and Livestock. IUCN Pakistan, Northern Areas Program, Gilgit.