Grazing of goats in the pastoral areas of Western Australia, best management practice guidelines

Department of Agriculture and Food, WA

Abstract

Contains the Department of Agriculture Western Australia's model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Goats

The Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA) requires a pastoralist to manage and work the land within a pastoral lease to its best advantage and use methods of best pastoral and environmental management practices to achieve sustainable land use. For the purposes of the pastoral provisions in Part 7 of the LAA, a distinction is made between authorised and prohibited stock.

Recent amendments of the classification of goats, from prohibited stock to authorised stock, require that a best practice management framework be developed to ensure future sustainability of the industry.

This document recognises the existence of a de facto managed goat industry based on the sale of unmanaged (feral) goats. Pragmatic regulations and endorsement of the current reality confers increased responsibility on the industry to demonstrate improved animal and land management practices. It is recognised that new methods and practices are likely to emerge over time and that these guidelines may need to be updated.

The overall objective is to define an agreed set of standards for the management of goats that will enable range condition trends to be maintained or improved while generating sufficient profits to enable the industry to develop.