Free horses of Apuseni, Romania

The free #horses are local #horses which are let loose during summer. During cold season, the owners retrieve their horses ( as the horses never wander too far).  They are mountain horses, which have a more solid build and can withstand effort.

Free horses can be seen in several parts of Romania, but the Apuseni mountains horses are particularly popular.

China, Romania Agree on Pig Deal

 ROMANIA – China has confirmed two large orders of #pigs and #cattle from #Romania to satisfy #meat demand, adding that whatever Romania can deliver, it can #buy.

Officials signed two agreements for the import of 500,000 #cattle and 3 million #pigs ‘over the coming years’, said the South China Morning Post.

Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang said other #meats, particularly #sheep, would also be in demand.

 Romanian #livestock #breeder, Dumitru Grigoean was clear that this was good news.
“It would be a pity to miss the opportunity," said Mr Grigorean. "Of course I'd earn a lot more if I made computer tablets like the Chinese do, but I'm only good at #raising #cattle," he told the South China Morning Post.
He said several members of the #cattle breeder association, running 2,000 cattle each, had signed up to sell to China.
But, Food Industry trade union leader, Dragos Frumosu, said Romania’s herd could not keep up with Chinese needs. Government figures show that cattle numbers have halved to 1.2 million after being at 2.8 million in 2001.

  

Mr Frumosu suggested a solution would be to set up ‘joint farms’ with Chinese capital or expand smaller farms with European Union funds.
Currently, most of Romania’s meat exports go to Arab countries, although it imports half its #pork and 70 per cent of #beef.

Shuanghui International's recent takeover of Smithfield Foods in the United States, which owns a pork producer near Timisoara in western Romania, will partly solve the #pork exports issue.

Tallest Living Dog

Zeus was the father of the gods in Ancient Greece, and his namesake, a 3-year-old Great Dane from Otsego, Michigan, USA, can today be referred to as the "father of the #dogs" as he is announced as the Tallest Dog Ever.

Measuring an incredible 111.8 cm (44 in) from foot to withers, Zeus is the same size as an average #donkey.

Standing on hind legs, he stretches to 7 ft 4 in and towers over his owner Denise Doorlag.

The humongous hound weighs 70.3 kg (155 pounds or 11 stone) and eats around 12 cups of food a day (equivalent to one whole 30-lb bag of #food!).

"Zeus is an awesome #dog," says owner Denise.

"The only downside is that everything costs more; the food, medicines, transport. We had to get a van to be able to transport him, oh, and if he steps on your foot - he leaves bruises!"

Denise loves the reaction Zeus gets when the family takes him out: "The most common thing people ask is: 'Is that a dog or a horse?' and 'Where's his saddle?'

Zeus breaks the record of previous record-breaking pooch Giant George, who is 1-inch shorter, which makes Zeus the tallest #dog ever recorded in history.