Sheep outnumber people in New Zealand by five to one.

The sheep-to-human ratio was much higher in the past. In 1982, there were 70.3 million sheep and only 3.18 million people. This was a ratio of 22 sheep for every one person. Since then, many farmers have switched from sheep to dairy cows or planting forests.Captain Cook brought the first sheep to New Zealand in 1773. The industry grew quickly in the mid-1800s when Merino sheep arrived from Australia. Today, sheep farming covers millions of hectares of land across the North and South Islands. It is a major part of the economy and brings in billions of dollars through meat and wool exports.Sheep are ruminants, which means they have special stomachs that produce methane gas when they digest food. Methane is a greenhouse gas that affects the environment. Scientists at AgResearch are now breeding sheep that produce less methane to help the planet. Even with fewer sheep than before, New Zealand still has a higher sheep-to-human ratio than Australia.