Slovakia - Animal husbandry

Some 833,000 hectares (2,058,000 acres) of land are meadows and pastures, representing 17.3% of the total land area. In 2001, there were some 1,488,000 pigs, 645,000 head of cattle, 358,000 sheep, 10,000 horses, and 27 million chickens. Meat production was estimated at 271,000 tons in 2001, with pork accounting for 56%; beef, 14%; poultry, 27%; and others, 3%. Milk production was 1,147,000 tons in 2001. Due to the concern over bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), in July 1996 Slovakia banned selected imports and transit of cattle and sheep, and beef and mutton imports and transits coming from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, France, and Switzerland.