Sheep numbers down to 50 year low

Counting sheep is not something only done by insomniacs - Statistics New Zealand also has the task of keeping a tally of our woolly friends.

The number of sheep in New Zealand has fallen to its lowest level since 1955.

Statistics New Zealand said there were 38.6 million sheep in New Zealand in 2007, down 4 per cent from 2006.

Sheep numbers peaked in 1982 at 70.3 million.

Dairy cattle numbers though were up 2 per cent on 2006 to 5.3 million.

The number of deer fell 12 per cent from 2006 to 1.4 million.

Beef cattle numbers remained the same at 4.4 million.

The numbers were from provisional figures from the 2007 agricultural production census.

- NZPA