Tables III and IV show the kinds of ruminant populations
and animal production in the different production system
groups, both globally and for the developing regions. The1.5 billion head of cattle and buffaloes, and the 1.7 billion
sheep and goats are fairly evenly distributed across the
land-based systems, but average densities increase sharply
from grazing systems to mixed irrigated systems; the latter
have far greater livestock supporting capacities per unit
area. Only a small fraction of the world’s ruminant
population is found in industrial feedlots, partly because
this corresponds to only the final stage of the animal’s life
cycle, even in regions where intensive production iscommon. Ruminant feedlots are predominantly a North
American phenomenon, though they are used to a lesser
extent in parts of Europe and the Near East. The vast
majority of large and small ruminant populations are found
in the developing regions: some 70% of small ruminants in
grazing systems and over 80% of large ruminants in
grazing systems are located in developing regions. These
shares are respectively about 80% and 70% in rainfed
mixed systems and 87% and 92% in irrigated mixed
systems.