Optimization of the management of the livestock population structure and analysis of its influencing factors in four typical animal husbandry counties of northwest Sichuan

The population characteristics of livestock, family composition of herdsman, and management of livestock slaughter are important factors that influence the optimization of the management of the livestock structure in traditional pastoral areas. In this study, we performed comprehensive analyses on the livestock population characteristics, composition of herdsman families, and management indices of livestock slaughtering in August 2018 in four typical animal husbandry counties of northwest Sichuan, including Ruoergai, Hongyuan, Aba, and Rangtang, based on 20 townships and 124 pastoral households. The results showed that, excluding Ruoergai county, sheep were the main livestock. The highest reproducing ratio of female yaks and sheep in Rangtang county was 66.63% and 68.26%, respectively, while the lowest in Ruoergai county was 48.23% and 51.67%, respectively. In terms of the reproduction rate, the highest reproduction rates of yaks and sheep in Ruoergai county were 46.04% and 63.26%, respectively, whilst in Rangtang county they were 35.51% and 63.67%. On the contrary, the lowest reproduction rates of yak and sheep in Aba and Hongyuan county, with 31.36%, 46.21%and 40.07%, 43.30% respectively.Men aged from 32 to 38 years old were the main herding labor force in a typical animal husbandry county, and their degree of education was generally low. The largest ratios of illiteracy and primary school education were 31.29% and 46.51%, respectively, while the lowest ratio of college education, junior college, or above was 4.96%. In terms of the management of livestock slaughter, the slaughter time of sheep in Aba county was more than 1 year, which is within a reasonable range. However, the slaughter time of yaks and sheep in other counties is relatively long, the slaughter rate is relatively low, and the largest slaughter rate was only 21.08% in Hongyuan county. Therefore, encouraging the development of education in pastoral areas, adjusting the structure of livestock, and accelerating the turnover of livestock populations are crucial to the optimization of livestock structures and the sustainable development of animal husbandry.