BEING A BIT SHEEPISH
Apropos of my post about Soccer and Rugby, a question: ‘Why is it that Kiwi males are often shy about taking their girlfriends to Rugby matches?’
Because, the answer goes: ‘They are embarrassed when their companions graze the pitch at half time’. (One of many Kiwi-Sheep jokes that our Aussie neighbours love so much).
However, it seems that Kiwis have a new girlfriend.
The UK Guardian Weekly has recently picked up on the fact that the number of dairy cows in New Zealand has overtaken the number of human beings.
The Guardian article by Adam Gabbett under the title: “New Zealand’s cow numbers on the moo-ve” (19th February 2010) comments that:
‘New Zealanders have long endured jokes about the extent to which they are outnumbered by sheep. Now Kiwis can expect more variety in the gags, with the country’s national statistics office announcing that the population has also been overtaken by that of dairy cattle.
Statistics NZ’s agricultural production survey, released last week, reported that cow numbers soared to 5.8 million in 2009. New Zealand has human population of 4.3 million.
The number of sheep in the country has provided fodder for endless jokes. In the US TV series Flight of the Conchords – about two Kiwi musicians living in New York – the NZ tourism poster can be seen bearing the slogan: “New Zealand, ewe should come”.
In 1982, the national sheep flock peaked at 70 million. The number has since more than halved.
The survey also showed that the number of beef cattle was also close to that of humans, with 4.1 million recorded last year’.
OFFICIAL STATISTICS
Following this up: extracts from the official Press Release by Statistics New Zealand on 9 February 2010 “Dairy cattle numbers continue to rise” are given below:
New Zealand's dairy cattle numbers hit a record high in 2009 and there was one milking cow for every New Zealander, Statistics New Zealand said today. Sheep and deer posted lower numbers than in 2008, according to provisional results of the 2009 Agricultural Production Survey. Beef cattle numbers remained stable.
Total dairy cattle numbers hit a record high of 5.8 million in 2009, 4 percent higher than in 2008. Since 1979, numbers in the overall dairy herd have doubled according to the annual survey, which collects information on livestock and arable farming, horticulture, forestry, and selected farming practices, including fertiliser and cultivation.
At 4.6 million, the 2009 milking herd, identified as cows and heifers in milk or in calf, was 250,000 larger than in 2008. This expansion was due to both dairy conversions and growth in the number of milking cows in existing herds.
“Increased numbers in the milking herd have resulted in there being one milking cow for every New Zealander", said agriculture statistics manager Gary Dunnet.
Meanwhile, the national sheep flock was down 5 percent on 2008 to 32.4 million in 2009.
"Numbers were below half the peak of 70 million reached in 1982", said Mr Dunnet. “In 2009, New Zealand had fewer than eight sheep per person”.
THE KIWI, THE SHEEPDOG AND THE SHEEP
So I guess that we will have to just re-write those jokes.
I’ll end with, in my view, one of the best.
The story has it that a Kiwi farmer on a trading voyage in the South Pacific, was the only survivor from a wrecked ship. He made it to a deserted atoll - along with his dog and a lone representative of his flock.
When they had recuperated, the three friends used to go down to the beach every night to watch the sun go down.
After a number of weeks, the farmer was feeling lonely and he reached out and caressed the sheep. This made his dog very jealous and he desisted.
Anyhow, his frustration took a different turn when there was another shipwreck and its sole survivor – a beautiful young girl – washed up senseless on the beach.
After the friends had nursed her back to health, all four of them recommenced the evening custom of watching the sun go down.
And once again, the Kiwi started to feel lonely. This time, he reached out to the beautiful girl and caressing her shoulder said:
‘Would you mind taking the dog for a walk?’
NOTE ON THE COVER PICTURE
New Zealand sculptor Jeff Thomson, who confesses to a love hate relationship with the material, has made a number of different objects, both two and three-dimensional, out of corrugated iron, perhaps the best-known being his amazing animals.
In 1987 on Waitangi Day, New Zealand's national day, Thomson unveiled a small herd of corrugated iron cows on the lawns of the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra, Australia, where they became something of a tourist attraction until a subsequent High Commissioner had them removed.
It seems that they have moved to a winery in Victoria where they continue to graze happily.
No comments:
Post a Comment