Number of animals in livestock farming in the Netherlands, 1980-2002
Intensive farming is the area of livestock farming that houses most animals. Animal diseases have a significant effect on the livestock.
| 1980 | 1986 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | ||
| x 1 000 | ||||||||
| Cattle | 5 226 | 5 123 | 4 926 | 4 654 | 4 070 | 4 047 | 3 858 | |
| including | dairy cows | 2 356 | 2 288 | 1 878 | 1 708 | 1 504 | 1 546 | 1 496 |
| calves for fattening | 582 | 690 | 602 | 669 | 783 | 712 | 713 | |
| Pigs | 10 138 | 13 481 | 13 915 | 14 397 | 13 118 | 13 073 | 11 648 | |
| Poultry | 82 593 | 93 808 | 94 903 | 91 861 | 106 813 | 102 956 | 103 651 | |
| among which | laying hens1) | 26 610 | 33 911 | 33 199 | 38 162 | 44 036 | 42 726 | 38 889 |
| broilers | 38 609 | 39 414 | 41 172 | 43 827 | 50 937 | 50 127 | 54 660 | |
| Horses and ponies | 67 | 63 | 70 | 100 | 118 | 120 | 121 | |
| Sheep | 858 | 868 | 1 702 | 1 674 | 1 308 | 1 296 | 1 186 | |
| Goats | 0 | 23 | 61 | 76 | 179 | 221 | 255 | |
| Rabbits and animals kept for their fur | . | . | . | 952 | 982 | 1 003 | 995 | |
| Source: CBS (2003). | CBS/EDC/May03/0012 | |||||||
| 1) 1960: 6 months and older; 1970 and 1980: 5 months and older; from 1986 onwards: 18 weeks and older. | ||||||||
Number of animals
The sharp increase in the number of animals is mainly in intensive livestock farming. The number of dairy cows - which accounted for 52% of manure production in 2001* - has fallen by 42% (2002) since the introduction of the Super Levy Decree in 1984.
The fall in the number of pigs since 1997 is the result of a complex of factors: the consequences of swine fever, market developments, the reduction and purchase of pig entitlements by government, and environmental and animal welfare measures.
Effect of animal diseases
The influence of foot and mouth disease on the size of the livestock herd in 2001 was primarily local. The effect was limited in the Netherlands as a whole. In the long term, the main impact of animal disease is on the economic position of livestock farms. Applications have been made by 377 companies for assistance from the foot and mouth fund: 132 applications were granted, with an average of EUR 37,000 per farm being paid. Fifty applications came from companies from outside the agricultural sector (hotel and catering, transport, retail trade).
After the outbreak of fowl plague in the Netherlands in early 2003, 252 farms had been declared contaminated (on 1 May). In 22 cases, the animals were kept for hobby purposes. More than 25 million (approximately 25% of poultry) animals at risk of avian influenza were destroyed.
