Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00160:reg:2008:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00160
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 2008 (pt 2/19)
Character Range: 4963–8163

environmental, economic, social and cultural values; and current management practices and measures.

1.1  Threat abatement plans

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Australian Government develops TAPs and facilitates their implementation. To progress the main strategic development actions, the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) assesses the potential for partnerships and co-investments with other government agencies, industry and other stakeholders. An important part of implementation of the TAP is ensuring that knowledge of improved abatement methods is disseminated to potential users.

Mitigating the threat of invasive species is not simply a matter of providing better technical solutions, such as improved baits for feral animal control. It also involves understanding and addressing social and economic factors; for example, through supporting the efforts of private landholders and leaseholders to manage invasive species on their lands for biodiversity conservation and primary production. In addition, research and development programs for controlling vertebrate pest species need to integrate interests of both primary production and environmental conservation.

Regional natural resource management plans and site-based plans provide the best scale and context for developing operational plans to control invasive species. They allow primary production and environmental considerations to be jointly addressed, and control to be integrated across the local priority vertebrate pests within the scope of other natural resource management priorities.

The national coordination of pest animal control activities occurs under the Australian Pest Animal Strategy, released in 2007 by the Natural Resource Management and Primary Industries Ministerial Councils. The Vertebrate Pests Committee, comprising representatives from all Australian, state and territory governments, has responsibility for implementation of the strategy. This TAP provides guidance for abating the impacts of unmanaged goats within that broader context.

1.2  Threat abatement plan for unmanaged goats

1.2.1 The threat

Goats are found across approximately 2 million square kilometres of Australia. They are present in all states, the Australian Capital Territory and some offshore islands, including islands that are part of the Northern Territory. However, unmanaged goats are not found on the mainland of the Northern Territory. Further details about distribution and abundance are in the accompanying background document (DEWHA 2008).

The intensity of goat management varies widely. In the agricultural zone, goats are typically more intensively farmed and tightly constrained by high fencing. In the pastoral zone, goats on leasehold or private property may be under varying levels of management.

The focus of this TAP is to minimise the impacts of goats wherever they affect biodiversity. Goats can be managed for productive purposes on private and leasehold lands in a total grazing pressure context, while still maintaining biodiversity values (Pearce et al. 1998). The focus of this plan is to abate the impacts