The feral goat population in Western Australia is estimated to be about 700,000. Heaviest populations are in the pastoral areas near Carnarvon, and the Murchison and Leonora regions. In 1990 there were about 140 cashmere breeders with an average herd size of 300 does. The total fleece, including guard hair, is shorn from the animal, classed on the fan-n and consigned to a central fibre 'pool' in Guildford, New South Wales. Bids are taken from international cashmere processors, according to a predetermined buying schedule.
Principal buyers are USA, Italy, Japan and Scotland.
The anatomical structure which produces fibre is the skin follicle. The primary follicle produces a coarse, medullated guard hair with diameters ranging from 50 to 150 microns. The secondary follicles are non-medullated and produce a down with a mean diameter of 13 to 20 microns. Goat skin follicle arrangement. Cashmere yield Cashmere yield is the proportion of down in the total fleece, expressed as a percentage.