Although inferior to the wealth of other times (15th-16th centuries) and perhaps to the possibilities offered by the territory (just under 1/3 of this is made up of grazing areas), the Spanish livestock heritage appears to be quite well supplied, and does not unequal to the needs of agricultural life. In 1933 it included 802,800 horses, 1,461,000 mules, 1,164,000 donkeys, 4,163,500 cattle, 1,670,600 sheep, 4,644,600 goats and 5,048,200 pigs. Its distribution shows, as usual, a clear adaptation to natural conditions. The coastal selvedge of the extreme north, more humid and therefore equipped with good pastures and producing forage, contrasts with the rest of the country, where farming is extensive. The four provinces of La Coruña alone, Oviedo, Santander and Lugo own more than half of the cattle, the number of which includes fighting bulls, bred especially in the regions of Seville and Salamanca. In terms of number of heads, Spain, however, lags far behind Italy; what can be repeated in horses, spread primarily in the Campiña Andalusian, in Extremadura, in the Galician provinces and in Navarre. The relatively scarce use of horses is opposed to Spain by the very large use of mules and donkeys, as required by the mountainous and rugged character of its territory and the lack of good roads: therefore no other state in Europe has an equally abundant heritage. of mules (2nd place in the world, after the United States; breeding predominates in Extremadura and New Castile; animals are also used for agricultural work) and donkeys (3rd place, after Mexico and India; widespread above all in the Duero valley, in Extremadura and in La Mancha). The Canaries use camels for the same purposes, the number of which is around 4-5 thousand.
According to topmbadirectory, typical of inland regions is sheep farming, for which Spain occupies the third place in Europe (after the USSR and Great Britain): it is cared for almost everywhere, but with a clear numerical prevalence of Extremadura and the two Castles. The goat herd is much lower (third place in Europe, after the USSR and Greece), concentrated above all in Extremadura, New Castile and Andalusia. Spain is far ahead of Italy in terms of number of pigs (fourth place in Europe); the main breeding centers are located in Extremadura (Badajoz), Andalusia (Seville, Cordova) and Galicia. However, only in the latter region is its development rationally taken care of, given the availability of good feed.
The poultry population is far from negligible: 29.4 million hens, 4.3 million pigeons, 415,000 turkeys, 355,000 ducks, 152,000 geese and 8,000 pheasants, according to a census carried out in 1933. Egg production it exceeds, on average, 1 million quintals per year, covering more than two thirds of the national needs.
More than the production of meat (7.8 million quintals in 1931), sheep and cattle breeding aims, respectively, at that of wool (35-50 million kg.) And milk (1.7 million liters., on average); despite the limited internal needs, however, none of these products exempts the need to import more or less significant quantities from abroad.
The Spanish livestock herd has been in a static situation for fifteen years: the conditions of the national economy, and especially those of agriculture, do not allow us to have overwhelming illusions about its decisive increase, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
On the other hand, in the twentieth century, the economic importance of fishing has become increasingly greater, to which, until the last years of the century. XIX, no industrial treatment was reserved. If the exploitation of the reserves, very depleted, of inland waters is almost negligible, the harvest along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts (but with a large prevalence of the former) was around, in the five-year period 1929-33, around 300 thousand tons. which 5-8 thousand made up of crustaceans and 16-20 thousand from molluscs, and for the rest essentially from sardines (120-150 thousand tons), cod (60-100 thousand tons) and tuna. The global value of the fishery rose in 1932 to over 264 million pesetas. The liveliest ports are those of Galicia and Asturias, where the most important centers of related industries are also located.
