| Abstract from DBPedia | Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starting with the Neolithic Revolution when animals were first domesticated, from around 13,000 BC onwards, predating farming of the first crops. By the time of early civilisations such as ancient Egypt, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were being raised on farms. Major changes took place in the Columbian exchange, when Old World livestock were brought to the New World, and then in the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century, when livestock breeds like the Dishley Longhorn cattle and Lincoln Longwool sheep were rapidly improved by agriculturalists, such as Robert Bakewell, to yield more meat, milk, and wool. A wide range of other species, such as horse, water buffalo, llama, rabbit, and guinea pig, are used as livestock in some parts of the world. Insect farming, as well as aquaculture of fish, molluscs, and crustaceans, is widespread. Modern animal husbandry relies on production systems adapted to the type of land available. Subsistence farming is being superseded by intensive animal farming in the more developed parts of the world, where, for example, beef cattle are kept in high density feedlots, and thousands of chickens may be raised in broiler houses or batteries. On poorer soil, such as in uplands, animals are often kept more extensively and may be allowed to roam widely, foraging for themselves. Most livestock are herbivores, except for pigs and chickens which are omnivores. Ruminants like cattle and sheep are adapted to feed on grass; they can forage outdoors or may be fed entirely or in part on rations richer in energy and protein, such as pelleted cereals. Pigs and poultry cannot digest the cellulose in forage and require other high-protein foods.畜産（ちくさん）英語Livestockは、動物のうち家畜・家禽を繁殖、飼育または肥育し、乳製品、肉、卵、皮革など畜産物を得て生活に役立てる産業である。飼育する動物が水棲生物である場合は、養殖と呼ぶことが一般的である。畜産を営む農家は、特に畜産農家または畜産家と呼ばれる。 放牧により畜産をする場合には牧畜とも言う。乳を得ることを目的とする場合には酪農と言う。 畜産業を営むためには、「化製場等に関する法律」に基づく保健所（都道府県）の許可が必要になる。業としない場合でも、同一地域に一定数以上の家畜を飼育する際には該当する。 畜産は食糧確保の手段である一方で、後述するように、環境問題や倫理問題等の指摘もある。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Animal_husbandry) |
