The continuous growth in world population and rising standards of living in many countries has lead to a rapid growth in the livestock industry. This is particularly true of the cattle. The total world population of cattle in 2004 was over 1 billion head,  led by India with 300 million and followed by Brazil with 180 million and China with 120 million head.

In the United States there are approximately 100 million head of cattle.

The world population of sheep and goats is approaching one billion heads and the population of horses is about 60 million heads.

Cats and dogs are a growing market segment in developed countries, with approximately 100 million each.