Status, directions and priorities of reindeer husbandry research in Sweden

[摘要] Emerging out of small-scale reindeer farming, large-scale reindeer husbandry in Sweden and Norway was developed to counteract resource scarcity caused by depleted wild reindeer numbers and human population growth above what the former subsistence economy could sustain. Current numbers of reindeer are likely lower and fluctuate less than before wild reindeer were depleted and reindeer husbandry started on a large scale. Productivity is about 7-8 kg of meat per head in winter stock. Current problems arise from a multitude of circumstances, some of them related to the problems of practising a subsistence type of living in close connection with a modern industrialized society. Problems include: low production, typical for harsh conditions and use of an unimproved animal stock; the inability to support a modern standard of living solely from reindeer; the collective access to grazing grounds which makes internal management difficult; unclear legal rights resulting in conflicting interests with other land users...

[学科分类] 自然科学（综合）