From WSJ:
Since 2009, China has become the world's most important buyer of dairy cows, driving up prices for calves world-wide. China has imported nearly 250,000 live heifers, or cows that haven't yet reproduced, since 2009, according to data tracker Global Trade Information Services. Last year it spent more than $250 million on 100,000 foreign heifers, about 25 ships worth.
Chinese on average drink about 2.5 gallons of liquid milk a year, less than a third as much as Japanese and South Koreans, and far behind the 20.8 gallons drunk in the U.S.
Chinese cows, imported from Europe decades ago but never scientifically bred, produce on average four tons of milk a year, compared with nine tons for American cows.
Grazed cows, like those in Australia and New Zealand, produce less milk than those confined to sheds, where feeding is controlled.
The result is farms like Modern Dairy's Feidong facility which contains 10,000 cows - a huge set of buildings that looks more like an electronics factory than a farm. Cows live in football-field-size covered sheds, rarely venture outdoors and are milked three times a day on German-made, bovine merry-go-rounds, with automated pumps that measure each cow's milk flow by the second and send that data to central computers. Music plays in the background to soothe the cows during the 8-minute cycle.
The U.S. sends the food the cows eat because China doesn't have the supply of high-protein alfalfa that top producing cows need.
References:
China Grows Its Dairy Farms With a Global Cattle Drive. WSJ.
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Fishing with birds - Wild China - BBC video
BBCWorldwide | February 02, 2011 | In the Guangxi province of China, fisherman use trained cormorants to help them catch fish from the Li river. A noose tied around the birds' necks to stop them swallowing any fish they may catch. This practice is criticized by the animal rights advocates, I'm sure.
Tiger Farms in China
Tiger Farms in China Feed Thirst for Parts - NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/world/asia/13tiger.html
“All of the demand for tiger parts is coming from China,” said Belinda Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. “Unless the Chinese change their attitude, the tiger has no future on this earth.”
Chinese tiger farms raise thousands of animals with assembly-line efficiency. Many others are packed in small cages. Until two years ago, one farm sold tiger steaks.
The word “tiger” no longer appears on the "tiger wine" packaging — “rare animal bones” is used instead — although those who sell the wine say the key ingredient remains tiger bone.
The park is a fairly dispiriting place. In addition to the tigers, there are also about 300 Asiatic brown bears which are tapped for their bile, the main ingredient of a lucrative supplement said to improve eyesight.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/world/asia/13tiger.html
“All of the demand for tiger parts is coming from China,” said Belinda Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. “Unless the Chinese change their attitude, the tiger has no future on this earth.”
Chinese tiger farms raise thousands of animals with assembly-line efficiency. Many others are packed in small cages. Until two years ago, one farm sold tiger steaks.
The word “tiger” no longer appears on the "tiger wine" packaging — “rare animal bones” is used instead — although those who sell the wine say the key ingredient remains tiger bone.
The park is a fairly dispiriting place. In addition to the tigers, there are also about 300 Asiatic brown bears which are tapped for their bile, the main ingredient of a lucrative supplement said to improve eyesight.
Related:
Wildlife photographer runs 4 marathons with a tiger on his back http://goo.gl/GHr7N
Wild China, BBC documentary: 1. Heart of the Dragon
Wild China is a six-part nature documentary series on the natural history of China, co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and China Central Television (CCTV) and filmed entirely in high-definition (HD).
"Heart of the Dragon" - the first programme in the series concentrates on South China, where the climate and terrain is ideal for rice cultivation.
The terraced paddy fields of Yuanyang County plunge 2000 metres down steep hillsides to the Red River valley, and are some of the oldest man-made structures in China.
In a Miao household in Guizhou province, the arrival of red-rumped swallows signals the time for planting. Other creatures which benefit from the rice monoculture include little egrets and Chinese pond herons.
Of the hundreds of caves beneath the limestone hills of this karst region, few have been explored. At Zhongdong, an entire community, including a school, lives in the shelter of a cave.
Francois' langurs, a rare primate, use their rock-climbing skills to enter caves at night for protection. Other cave dwellers include swifts and Rickett’s mouse eared bats, filmed for the first time catching fish in the dark.
Freshwater creatures are an important resource for the people of South China. The Li River cormorant fishermen now only practice their art for tourists, but at Caohai Lake, dragonfly nymphs are a unique and valuable harvest.
Chinese alligators only survive in Anhui province thanks to dedicated conservation efforts. A troop of Huangshan macaques is shown retreating to the safety of the treetops when a venomous Chinese moccasin is spotted. After the autumn rice harvest, migratory birds including tundra swans and Siberian cranes gather at Poyang Lake.
Cormorant fishermen.
References:
Wild China. Wikipedia.
Wild China. BBC.
Related:
"Heart of the Dragon" - the first programme in the series concentrates on South China, where the climate and terrain is ideal for rice cultivation.
The terraced paddy fields of Yuanyang County plunge 2000 metres down steep hillsides to the Red River valley, and are some of the oldest man-made structures in China.
In a Miao household in Guizhou province, the arrival of red-rumped swallows signals the time for planting. Other creatures which benefit from the rice monoculture include little egrets and Chinese pond herons.
Of the hundreds of caves beneath the limestone hills of this karst region, few have been explored. At Zhongdong, an entire community, including a school, lives in the shelter of a cave.
Francois' langurs, a rare primate, use their rock-climbing skills to enter caves at night for protection. Other cave dwellers include swifts and Rickett’s mouse eared bats, filmed for the first time catching fish in the dark.
Freshwater creatures are an important resource for the people of South China. The Li River cormorant fishermen now only practice their art for tourists, but at Caohai Lake, dragonfly nymphs are a unique and valuable harvest.
Chinese alligators only survive in Anhui province thanks to dedicated conservation efforts. A troop of Huangshan macaques is shown retreating to the safety of the treetops when a venomous Chinese moccasin is spotted. After the autumn rice harvest, migratory birds including tundra swans and Siberian cranes gather at Poyang Lake.
Cormorant fishermen.
References:
Wild China. Wikipedia.
Wild China. BBC.
Related:
Wild China - BBC six-part nature documentary
Wild China is a six-part nature documentary series on the natural history of China, co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and China Central Television (CCTV) and filmed entirely in high-definition (HD).
The full six-part series is currently available for streaming from Netflix.
YouTube clip.
References:
Wild China. Wikipedia.
Wild China. BBC.
Related:
The full six-part series is currently available for streaming from Netflix.
YouTube clip.
References:
Wild China. Wikipedia.
Wild China. BBC.
Related:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
