Milk and meat producing animals in the world

Abstract: People worldwide use mainly five animal species for milk production: buffalo, camel, cow, goat and sheep. For meat production, the milk producing species are used and also the additional species pig, poultry, rabbit and horse. Cow produces most milk in the world and the largest quantity of meat is produced of pig. Asia has the biggest animal population for all species except camel of which Africa has the most. Where in the world you find a specific animal species depends on the climate, conditions for animal production, religion, culture and economy. The big animal population in Asia can be explained by dense human population and favorable climate. The most common production system for meat production is landless system and the largest share of the milk in the world comes from rain-fed mixed croplivestock farming system. There are also grass-land based production systems which is most common in developing countries. It is not easy to describe the exact distribution of animals in the world because the statistics are insufficient.