By the National Research Council
Small Animals with Big Futures Rabbits, guinea pigs, iguanas, and rodents, as well as tiny cattle, pigs, and sheep, have many economic and environmental advantages over their larger counterparts. Traditional livestock such as cattle and sheep require a lot of land, which is in creasingly precious in developing coun tries. Breeding micro livestock-smaller animals not traditionally used as live stock-could be the solution. Like computers, livestock is getting smaller and becoming more "personal." Conventional "mainframes," such as cat tle, are too large for the world's poorest people; they require too much space and expense. "Miniframes," such as the con ventional breeds of sheep and goats, have an increasingly important role to play. But tiny, "user-friendly"species-called "micro livestock" -could become a major food source in developing countries. These
small, hardy animals deserve much more attention. There are two types of microlivestock. One consists of extremely small forms of conventional livestock-such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The other consists of species that are inherently small-poul try, rabbits, and rodents, for instance. Microlivestock are important because the developing world's animal production is only a fraction of what it should be. Throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the poor eat almost no meat, milk, or eggs-the most nutritious foods. It is estimated, for example, that in Mexico 25 million campesinos cannot afford meat. In poor countries, even the middle class THE FUTURIST
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poverty-stricken parts of the world. eats less meat in a year than the pop small, easily managed, household ulations of North America and Eu livestock. Small size, the ability to Captive rabbits have been popular as rope eat in a month. Malnutrition is forage for themselves, and a natural food at least since the time of the Ro desire to stay around the house put mans. Rabbit rearing has been well common, and its effects-especially on children-can be debilitating. It is chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, and established in Europe and China, one of humanity's most serious im other birds among the most vital re and now national rabbit projects balances-and most pressing prob sources of rural Asia, Africa, and have begun in many developing Latin America. Scratching a living nations. lems. • Rodents. Some 7,000years ago, Rural families in the Third World out of the dirt, dust, ditches, and de usually subsist mainly on the prod bris, these often-scrawny creatures guinea pigs were domesticated as a ucts from their homes or farms. are a resource to be taken seriously. source of food for the high Andes; Thus, if we are to help their livestock For the most poverty-stricken, a even today in the uplands of Bolivia, production, more attention must be bony bird may be the only source of Peru, and Ecuador, most Indians raise them inside their homes and regiven to animals that are sized for meat during much of a lifetime. gard them as an essen their situations. tial part of life. For Many have argued many Indians, these in that livestock raising "In poor countries, even the middle class door livestock are the should be discouraged, main source of meat. that it is a primary eats Iese meat in a year than the populations of Prolific, tractable, and cause of desertification North America and Europe eat in a month." easy to feed, house, and through overgrazing, handle, guinea pigs are and that it is an ineffieven kept in downtown cient converter of basic apartment buildings material and energy often in boxes under into human food; rather the bed. than livestock, we Other rodents might should be growing also be suited to do more grain. However, Capybara mestication, such as the much of the world's potentially tamable, surface is unsuitable for clean-living species of permanent cultivation, South American fields and it is in these areas Pigeons forage widely but return and woodlands-agouti, capybara, and for those people who have no accessto arable lands that a convinc home, thereby providing the farmers hutia, mara, coypu, paca, and vizcacha. ing case for microlivestockcan most with squab. Quails are small and effi Two remarkable domestication pro cient and suited to home rearing. In grams have been started in Africa: easily be made. the grasscutter in WestAfricaand the Japan and a few other countries, Types of Microlivestock large numbers of quails are raised giant rat in Nigeria. Both animals • Microbreeds. Small breeds of commerciallyin very little space. The provide popular "bushmeat," and cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are muscovy, a native of South American researchersare now learning to raise common in the developing world. rain forests, is a major poultry re them in captivity. (Because of its Because they are often raised for source of France, Taiwan, and a few tangy taste, Ghanaians actually pay subsistence rather than for com other countries. Tame, tolerant, and three times more for grasscutter merce, the national and global con tough, the muscovy deserves greater meat than for beefl) • Antelope. Another wild African tribution that they make is often recognitioneverywhere. Guineafowl, native to Africa,is one mammal with potential for "house overlooked. These small, hardy ani mals deserve much greater attention. of the most self-reliant of all domes hold animal husbandry" is the blue Microbreeds are less than half the tic birds. It is raised in huge numbers duiker, a rabbit-sized antelope. In average size of conventional breeds; in Europe, notably France. Its poten some areas of central and southern some are far smaller than that. The tial for increased production else Africa,the demand is so great that its "mini-Brahman" cow of Mexico is where is exceptional.And finally,the population is declining at an alarm only 2 feet (60 cm) tall and weighs traditional turkey of Mexico still ex ing rate. If it can be made successful, about 309 lb. (140kg); the southern ists as a scavenger bird in villages duiker rearing might provide both Sudan dwarf sheep of eastern Africa and household backyards. Unlike food and an economic alternative to can weigh as little as 24 lb. (11 kg); the highly selected modern breeds, it slaughtering the wild populations. the Terai goat of Nepal weighs less is self-reliant, robust, and disease Duikers are reportedly easy to main tain and produce well in captivity. than 26.5 lb. (12 kg); and the cuino pig resistant. The meat of several other tiny an • Rabbits. Like chickens, rabbits of Mexicoweighsmerely22 lb. (10 kg). • Poultry. The widespread use of exemplify the vast possibilities that telope species is also much sought in poultry in Third World villages microlivestock offer for increasing many African countries, and these demonstrates the importance of meat production in the most animals are also suitably sized to 38
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feed the average family at one meal. filled by large livestock. Much of heat, temperature fluctuations, arid • Deer. Several species of tiny their potential is for subsistence pro ity, or humidity are extreme, micro deer-smaller than many dogs duction. They are promising for the livestock are likely to show their might make useful microlivestock, many peasants who, being outside greatest advantage. Chickens,guinea although much research is needed the cash economy,are now unable to fowl, goats, and many other small before their true potential can be purchase meat, milk, cheese, or eggs. species already live in villages, judged. Normal-sized deer were These people can afford only ani homes, and backyards in harsh and once considered too easily fright mals that can be raised within the disease-prone climates, and are usu ened to be reared as domestic live home or backyard under ambient cli ally given no care and sometimes no stock, but several species are now matic conditions and on feeds that food: They have to scavenge for their raised on thousands of deer farms in are cheap and easily available. sustenance and survive as best they New Zealand as well as in at least a In general, small species tend to can. Such selection pressures result dozen other countries. expand the food base by using a in animals of remarkable adaptabil Mouse deer and musk deer (which, wider array of resources than do ma- ity,tolerance, and robustness. strictly speaking, are Some microlivestock not true deer at all) are can produce under con of microlivestock size ditions where conven "The meat of these large herbivorous lizards is and are also possible fu tional species die. The ture livestock.The musk capybara, for instance, so delicious, they are being hunted to extinction deer produces one of is at home in the Latin throughout their wide range." the most valuable mateAmerican lowlands, rials in the animal kingwhere floods occur sea dom-more valuable, in sonally and the climate fact, than gold. The is hot and humid. Cat musk from the male's tle, by contrast, die be glands is used in oriencause of malnutrition, tal medicines as well as foot rot, or drowning. in European perfumes. Other microlivestock • Iguanas. Over much species with a wide tol of the Caribbean and erance to ecological ex Latin America, iguanas tremes include the are a traditional source turkey, pigeon, and bee. of food. Indeed, the meat of these jor livestocksuch as cattle. Many can And some dwarf breeds of cattle, large herbivorous lizards is so deli be raised on feeds that people dis sheep, goats, and pigs show surpris cious, they are being hunted to ex card: fibrous residues, industry ing tolerance to trypanosomes, the tinction throughout their wide byproducts, or kitchen wastes. Al parasites that make conventional range. Their eggs are much enjoyed, though small animals generally re breeds impossible to maintain also. Programs in Panama, Costa quire proportionately higher inputs throughout much of Africa. Rica, EI Salvador, Curacao, and Ar of feed, they also grow proportion Some small species can be raised gentina have developed simple ately faster. In addition, species such in cities, where poverty and mal methods to hatch and rear three as rabbits, guinea pigs, and grasscut nutrition are often worse than in ru iguana species. ters digest fibrous matter with sur ral areas. It is estimated, for instance, • Bees. Honey bees are present al prising efficiency,even though they that 1 million livestockexist in Cairo, most everywhere, and honey and are not true ruminants like cattle, not counting the pigeons that are wax are high-value products that de sheep, and goats. raised on countless rooftops. Goats mand very little processing and can Many small animals have high re and cattle are common in urban In be stored and transported easily. productive capacity with short gesta dia, and many Third World cities Innovations in equipment and tech tion periods, large numbers of off have far more chickensthan people. nique have made beekeeping suc spring, and rapid juvenile growth. cessful in the tropics without requir They tend to reach sexual maturity Microlivestock Limitations ing sophisticated hives or elaborate at a younger age than large animals, Raising microlivestock is not a training. Raising bees can also bene and the interval between the genera panacea for the Third World's food fit the many crops that require polli tions can be very short. Thus, meat problems. Efforts to develop them nation. or other products can be produced will not be without difficulties.Some more rapidly and more evenly likely problems include: Advantages of Microlivestock throughout the year. • High energy requirements. Although animal sciencehas tradi Another advantage of microlive Smaller animals tend to have a tionally emphasized bigness, small stock is that they can be raised higher feed requirement per unit of ness has its advantages. For instance, where conventional livestockcannot. body weight than large animals. microlivestock lend themselves to Smallness is often an adaptation to • Increased labor requirements. economic niches that are not easily harsh environments. Where cold, Keeping small animals often requires THE FUTURIST
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considerable effort, and its economic better, especially among the com village conditions, its feed-use effi ciencyand milk yield are irrelevant. viability may depend on the avail mon livestock. Microlivestock production should ability of cheap and willing labor. be integrated into most rural-devel Many small animals are raised at The Future of Microlivestock Small animals are likely to become opment projects. Small animals offer home by family members, such as children, the elderly, and the handi increasingly important in feeding the a way to improve the lives of people capped, who have time available and world. As human populations in who are hard to reach by other whose labor costs are nominally crease, the space availablefor grow methods. Only by expanding re ing forage decreases; this phe search on the husbandry, hygiene, zero. nutrition, reproduction, physiology, • Diseases. Confining any animal nomenon will favor small animals. in high density invariably increases Many villagers already have little or and breeding can the promise of ani the potential for the spread of infec no pastureland. Some live in areas mals sized for small farms and vil tious diseases and parasites. And (the rice-growing areas of Southeast lages be fulfilled. Moreover, the costs mismanagement can foster such Asia, for instance) where crops are will be small compared with those of diseases as salmonella programs for large ani and coccidiosis, which mals. For example, in EI Salvador, a highly suc are rare among scat "Raising personal livestock on weeds and cessful,nationwide rab tered, undomesticated bit-development project breeds. table scraps in cages beside the house or costs less than the price • Predation. Small boxes under the bed will ... get quality protein of a single stud bull. size makes micro live Raising personal live stock easy prey. to the most poverty-stricken." stock on weeds and • Lack of research. table scraps in cages be Techniques to manage side the house or boxes some microlivestock under the bed will, in species are not yet well established. The devel many instances, get quality protein to the opment of appropriate most poverty-stricken husbandry techniques, more effectively than as well as a better under raising large livestock standing of the animals' on pastures. And not particular biologicaland behavioral characteristics, will be grown on almost every square meter everyone who wants meat or money needed before major progress can be almost every month of the year. has the resources to acquire, keep, Microlivestockare potentially impor manage, or utilize a large animal. made. The key is balance. Both microlive • Complex logistics. It is compli tant for urban areas of developing cated and expensive to reach mil countries as well. There, too, land is stock and traditional livestock de lions of widely scattered peasants, at a premium and is usually in serve serious attention. Most micro livestock complement traditional each having only a handful of small adequate for raising conventional livestock because of unique physical, animals. Even though total produc livestock. physiological, behavioral, or eco So far, however, microlivestock tion may far exceed that of commer cial farms raising large animals, the have been largely ignored. Com nomic characteristics. They increase small holdings are often dispersed, pared with cattle, they have under the range of options for the millions their animals are often used for sub gone little scientific scrutiny. In the of poor for whom the choicemay not sistence rather' than commerce, and drive toward larger animals, stimu even be between large and small their managers are often ill-trained lated by experience in the temperate livestock, but between microlive 0 zone, the virtually unstudied gene stock and no livestockat all. and illiterate. • Lack of demand. Microlivestock pool of small species and breeds has need not be just for home or local been mostly bypassed. There have consumption; they can also be raised been few attempts to assess or im for market. But some commercial prove their farm productivity. This is unfortunate, and it is per About the Report programs, including some with rab bits and guinea pigs, have failed be haps due to the fact that small ani This article is adapted from Microlivestock: cause no public demand was devel mals may be less efficient at digest Little-Known Small Animals with a Promis oped. People have close associations ing certain foods and therefore ing Economic Future by the Board on Sci ence and Technology for International De with livestock, and in most cultures technically less attractive than large, velopment, National Research Council. they do not easily accept animals or "modern" breeds. But to Third Noel D. Vietmeyer, microlivestock study di animal foods that are radically dif World peasants, an animal's effi rector and scientific editor. 1991. 449 pages. ferent from their traditional ones. ciency is far less important than its Paperback. Available for $29.9S-from the There also seems to be an innate hu survivability and manageability. If National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. man trait that considers bigger to be an animal cannot be raised under 40
THE FUTURIST
May-June 1992