The UN-sponsored International Moose Census got off to a flying start today with hopes for an increase in the worldwide moose population compared to last year’s disapointing figures. Among the traditional early reporters were Egypt, returning figures of six moose, a twenty percent increase on 2011’s figures of five, and Uruguay whose moose population remains stable at eleven.
Historically the only competitor to China in the far eastern moose markets has been Singapore but the tiny island nation is set to report a net loss, expecting a decrease of more than five percent on last year’s 50,000 moose counted. The head of Singapore’s Agency for Agriculture, JingFeng Lau, explained to an incredulous Singaporean parliament yesterday that bad weather had contributed to this season’s poor showing, most notably when a cargo of 150 moose were swept out into the Indian ocean in a monsoon.