Chinese internet users say New Zealand plan to breed "low-farting sheep" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be applied to some people. Photo: Screenshot from video by cctv.com

New Zealand's plan to breed low-farting sheep to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions got rather stinky reviews from Chinese netizens after China Central Television (CCTV) posted a short video on social media. 

The video shows scientists in New Zealand placing individual sheep in glass-enclosed cages that ventilate the animal's malodorous flatulence so they can be collected and measured. The project aims to find sheep that are less gassy and breed them with the goal of reducing the country's methane gas by 10 percent. 

Livestocks that feed on grass are the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. In New Zealand, sheep account for a third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. 

Many netizens found the plan interesting but some questioned whether it will make a difference. Some suggested the technology might be better used on the Earth's 7.5 billion people. 

"Why don't we just breed low-farting humans since they far outnumber sheep?" one made a sarcastic comment.

"It is so ironic that humans do not want to reduce the emissions they produce but work to make sheep fart less," said a another.

Environmentalists agree that eating less meat is the single greatest thing individuals can do to reduce their contribution to greenhouse gases.

CCTV.com