The GuardianThe New Zealand livestock industry has begun a “global first” program that would help to tackle climate change by breeding low methane-emitting sheep. There are about six times as many sheep as people in New Zealand and the livestock industry accounts for about one-third of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Sheep spend 50 minutes in the chamber, and must be measured twice with an interval of more than 14 days. “This is a global first for any species of livestock,” said Mark Aspin, the consortium’s general manager. “Launching the methane breeding value gives New Zealand’s sheep sector a practical tool to help lower our agricultural greenhouse gases.”
