Media release no.
Agriculture Western Australia has warned that the sale of feral goats to abattoirs was not sufficient to control goat populations in pastoral areas. Feral Goat Control Manager John James said pastoralists were still required to carry out other control measures such as culling and domesticating feral goats to protect the rangeland environment. Mr James said despite 200,000 goats being sent to abattoirs from the southern rangelands in the past year, there were signs that free-ranging goat populations on some properties were increasing and causing damage. He said station owners were being discouraged from selectively drafting male goats for abattoir consignments and releasing pregnant females and animals of no commercial value, as a base for next year's consignment. Surplus goats and smaller animals that do not meet specification or weights, should not be released onto the rangelands but returned to an electric-fenced training compound for a period and then put into a domestic goat paddock for future sales.