Goats arrived in Australia with the first Europeans. For many decades goats were the much-appreciated sole source of milk for early settlers in harsh tropical climates, where poor quality pasture and high humidity do not suit dairy cattle. Goats were useful transport and entertainment for bush kids who would rig up little buggies to be pulled behind their pets, and goat racing events were a common and highly entertaining feature of many bush race meetings.
Unfortunately goatsare too hardy and breed more rapidly than sheep or cattle. Escapees bred up to number in their thousands in certain areas, especially in mulga country in parts of central and north-western NSW (eg Cobar), up into Queensland’s Cunnamulla and Charleville region, and in south-eastern W.A. Due to the wool price slump feral goats were for the first time worth more money than domesticated sheep, so trapping and trucking them became financially viable. Now increasing numbers of properties actively breed and farm their formerly feral goats. Because goats are hardier than sheep and can reach up to grasp feed that sheep cannot, by standing on their hind legs, they are much better ‘doers’. The meat from young goats has a similar taste to lamb and because they have more fat than sheep running in the same paddock, their meat is more tender.
Goat meat is the most widely consumed meat in the world because there are few if any religious prohibitions in regard to eating goat meat. Cows are considered sacred by the Hindu religion and pigs are considered unclean animals by the Muslim religion, and given the numbers of people in these two religions, the effect on meat consumption is massive. China has a huge number of goats, easily the most in the world, but they are also the largest consumers of goat meat. Although there are dozens of other countries that have a larger population of goats, Australia exports more goat meat than any other country. Malaysia is usually imports the highest number of live goats from Australia, and the U.S. imports more than half of all Australian goat meat exports. This export market is growing due to the increase in the Hispanic population in the U.S. (the Caribbean is a significant importer of Australian goat meat too), who prefer goat meat to lamb, and will pay accordingly.
Consequently over the last couple of decades goats have been harvested and sold as hardy producers of valuable fibres (cashmere, angora and cashgora), for meat and as efficient weed eaters. Contrary to popular myth, most goats are very fussy eaters, however there are some weeds which fortunately they seem to have a particular taste for – such as blackberry bushes in the New England ranges of NSW, which goats do a great job of decimating. Generally, however, goats only eat weeds once they’ve eaten all the rose bushes, grape vine leaves and other valued plants that you’d be least likely to want them to eat. Once goats are properly educated to respect electric fences, there are relatively few problems with them wandering, and in the right spot they can work wonders on the vegetation.
The ‘Feral’ website, run by the Pest Animal Control CRC, has information on feral goats, including a list of questions that are frequently asked. When favoured fodder has been consumed, goats will eat a wide range of (native and introduced) plants that are not eaten by cattle or sheep. In addition to being able to reach mulga and vines that sheep cannot eat, goats can also travel into areas where uncommon native species may otherwise have been safe from grazing cattle and sheep – eg steep rocky hillsides.
Because of this, their hardiness and ability to breed more rapidly, and ability to get out of fencing if it is not adequate and/or they have not been educated properly, ensuring goats do not damage the environment requires greater skills, time and attention than is the case with sheep or cattle. Harvesting feral goats is not a good long-term solution for the environment. Goats should either be farmed under controlled conditions, as for sheep and cattle, or they should be eradicated entirely.
Tags: Feral goats in Australia, Conservation and the environment