Muster (livestock)

A muster (Au/NZ) or a roundup (US) is the process of gathering livestock. Musters usually involve cattle, sheep or horses, but may also include goats, camels, buffalo or other animals. Mustering may be conducted for a variety of reasons including routine livestock health checks and treatments, branding, shearing, lamb marking, sale, feeding and transport or droving to another location. Mustering is a long, difficult and sometimes dangerous job, especially on the vast Australian cattle stations of the Top End, 'The Falls' (gorge) country of the Great Dividing Range and the ranches of the western United States. The group of animals gathered in a muster is referred to as a "mob" in Australia and a "herd" in North America.

Methods

Mustering may be done on foot, with various vehicles, horses or with aircraft. Techniques in mustering cattle or sheep will depend on region, culture, distances and the type of terrain involved, and the type of animal that is being mustered. Most sheep mustering nowadays tends to be done with utes, motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, commonly called "quads" (quad-bikes) in Australia or a "four-wheeler" in the USA), whereas cattle mustering lends itself more towards the use of horses. The most popular horse for this job would is a stock horse or a very hardy bush horse. The people who muster animals are usually referred to as stockmen in Australia and, depending on the animal gathered, as wranglers or cowboys in the USA.

Livestock

Livestock are domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. Livestock are defined as being useful animals; which implies a commercial purpose, or being reared for financial gain. However, in recent years, livestock are also raised to promote the survival of rare breeds, leading to many charities being formed around this issue.

Livestock are raised for profit or conservation of rare breeds. Raising animals (animal husbandry) is a component of modern agriculture. It has been practiced in many cultures since the transition to farming from hunter-gather lifestyles.

Etymology and Legal Definition

Livestock as a word was first used between 1650 and 1660, as a merger between the word live and stock.

Older English sources, such as the King James Version of the Bible, refer to livestock in general as "cattle", as opposed to the word "deer", which then was used for wild animals which were not owned. The word cattle is derived from Old North French catel, which meant all kinds of movable personal property, including livestock, which was differentiated from non-movable real-estate ("real property"). In later English, sometimes smaller livestock was called "small cattle" in that sense of movable property on land, which was not automatically bought or sold with the land. Today, the modern meaning of "cattle", without a modifier, usually refers to domesticated bovines (see Cattle), however, in some cases livestock can mean cattle. The modern definition of livestock is useful animals kept on a farm.

Livestock (Fraternity album)

Livestock is the first album by Australian rock band Fraternity, released in 1971. Livestock is a largely progressive and psychedelic album, and was originally released on the Sweet Peach label, one of only ten albums ever released on it. Livestock was re-released for the first time on CD in 1998 with an alternative cover and three bonus tracks.

Track listing

1998 CD reissue

Livestock (rapper)

Benjamin Reeve, better known by his stage name Livestock, is an underground hip hop artist from Guelph, Ontario. Livestock was a long-time member of the Plague Language collective founded by Noah23 and Orphan.

History

Livestock's first release was as a member of the group The Twin Sisters with Naval Aviator and Treevortex. The group released one EP, entitled Amulet, in 2002. In early 2004, Livestock compiled collaborative material by himself, Noah23 and Homesick under the group name The Train Rawbers. This material was mastered and released in the Fall of 2004. The album is credited to the three MCs equally, but is primarily "Livestock's brainchild, featuring [Noah23] and Homesick". Livestock features on eleven of the thirteen tracks (all except "Introduct" and "Indeed"), while Noah23 features on six (3, 4, 6, 8, 9 & 13), and Homesick features on only four (3, 5, 8 & 13). Only three of the tracks feature all three members ("Ninjah Pizza", "Eagle" & "Vacuum Oyster Surprise"). The album was initially released with the subtitle "Volume 1", though no further volumes of material were released. In November 2004, Livestock released his debut solo album, Spiral Like the 9.