28 May 2004 00:48
Russian animal husbandry said to be facing extinction
MOSCOW. May 28 (Interfax) - The Russian animal farming industry could die out, Professor Tengiz Japaridze, executive
director of the Union of Russia's Animal Farmers, told a rally in defense of Russian animal farming in Moscow on
Friday. When the industry ceases to exist, Russia will be totally dependent on imported meat, he said.
According to the Union of Animal Farmers, within the last 14 years
the number of cattle in Russia has fallen by 57%, of milking cows by
49%, of pigs by 60%, of sheep by 75% and of fowl by 50%. Also, meat
output has more than halved, meat consumption has fallen from 75
The country needs an emergency program to rebuild animal farming, including stronger state support, the introduction
of annual reductions in fuel prices for rural areas and tax benefits on animal products from all types of farms, and
annual import quotas and proper import duties on meat, dairy and poultry products, Japaridze said.
kilograms to 45 kilograms per person per year, dairy consumption has gone down 37.5%, and the amount of butter being
consumed has decreased by three times.
"Animals will certainly be raised in Russia after the death of the industry, particularly in state-subsidized
animal breeding farms, but these will not provide enough meat or milk for the country," Japaridze told Interfax.
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