Lack of a pastoral tradition among northern Angolans, abundance of the tsetse fly in many regions, and the poor quality of natural pastures are some of the factors most frequently cited to explain the lag in animal husbandry in Portuguese Angola. What little there was of the livestock industry was virtually destroyed in the 1975–76 civil war.
Estimated livestock in 1999 included cattle, 3,900,000 head; goats, 2,000,000; hogs, 800,000; and sheep, 336,000. There were seven million chickens. Livestock products included an estimated 85,000 tons of beef and veal and 191,000 tons of milk in 1999. Honey production totaled 22,000 tons in 1999, the fourth highest in Africa.