Sheep and goat stock declines in 2011

The sheep population in December 2011 amounted to 11,887, showing a decline of by 4% over 2010 according to statistics published by the NSO.  

Male sheep registered an 8.8% gain, while lambs and ewe lambs fell by 33% and 6.6% respectively.

Ewes, the most important category with 78.6% of all sheep, edged down by 0.2% over the corresponding period in 2010.

On a regional level, 72.0% of all sheep were located on holdings in Malta, with the South Eastern District accounting for 31.7%. The sheep population in Gozo and Comino amounted to 3,324, or 28.0% of the total stock.

Compared with 2010, the sheep stock went up by 0.5% in Malta, but declined by 13.8% in Gozo and Comino.

Last year, 1,374 holdings were engaged in the rearing of sheep. 77.6% of all holdings reared less than 10 sheep and accounted for 31.2% of total stock with 3,714. In contrast, only 22.4% of all holdings reared more than 10 sheep, with a combined total of 8,173 sheep or 68.8% of the total stock.

In 2011, the goat population stood at 4,938, down by 3.4% over 2010. The decline in stocks resulted from drop in goats mated for the first time (-32.3%) and goats that had already kidded (-4.5%). In contrast, kids and male goats advanced by 46.1% and 7.4%respectively.

In comparison to 2010, the goat population decreased by 1.6% in Malta and by 9.2% in Gozo and Comino. Overall, 3,865 goats (78.3%) were found on Maltese holdings, of which 30.7%, or 1,188, were located in the South Eastern District.

The goat population in Gozo and Comino amounted to 1,073, or 21.7% of the total.

Last year, 846 holdings were engaged in the rearing of goats, of which 86.3% had less than 10 goats. These holdings accounted for 43.7% of the total stock.

On the other hand, only 15.1% of all holdings had more than 10 goats. These holdings comprised 2,778 heads, or 56.3% of the goat stock.