Answer to Question #110088 in Zoology for Takiemudau

Question

List six disadvantage of the domestication of ruminants

Answer 1

Ruminants are those mammals which have rumen and the material is partially digested in the rumen , so they regurgitate food, chew them again and then swallow again. These animals can acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach through microbial actions. There are many disadvantage of domestication of ruminants which are described below:

1. Animal domestication has allowed the human population to increase and create densely populated areas. Increasing livestock production to provide food to the growing human population has increased the potential to cause environmental problems. It is important to avoid an increase of grazing land and arable land for crops production to feed the animals, with the consequent reduction of areas of natural vegetation, soil and air contamination.
2. Overgrazing by the ruminant animals leads to several bad consequences like high amounts of animal excretions and overuse of natural pastures with low productivity and with high risk of soil degradation.
3. Animals are more susceptible to diseases because they are kept in crowded conditions during intensive farming, can affect humans causes up 2.4 billion cases of human illness. Such as cows with tuberculosis, pigs with influenza, and horses with rhinoviruses.
4. In an effort to ensure animals do not contract diseases, farmers use antibiotics which in the long-term lead to the evolution of bacteria and the rise of drug-resistant pathogens.
5. Animals waste and discards is often not treated appropriately with farmers often disposing their waste in rivers where they pollute water and threaten the ecosystem’s biodiversity.
6. Livestock sector accounts for 14.5% of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions, exceeding that from transportation.