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Nicaragua Livestock
The first cattle were brought to Nicaragua by the
Spanish in
the 1500s, and livestock raising was a mainstay of the
early
colony. Drier areas on the western slopes of the central
highlands were ideal for cattle raising, and by the
mid-1700s, a
wealthy elite, whose income was based on livestock
raising,
controlled León, Nicaragua's colonial capital. In the late
1900s,
as was true in the late 1500s, cattle raising has been
concentrated in the areas east of Lago de Managua. Most
beef
animals are improved zebu strains. Smaller herds of dairy
cattle-
-mostly Jersey, Guernsey, or Holstein breeds--are found
near
population centers. From 1979 to 1989, the total number of
cattle
dropped by a third because of widespread smuggling to
Honduras
and Costa Rica and illegal slaughter of the animals for
sale of
meat on the black market.
Data as of December 1993
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