Monitoring Country
Goat
- Nhaniguur in Gamilaraay/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi/Yuwaalayaay/Yuwaalaraay, Wirribula in Gamilaraay/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi, Wirrigaali in Yuwaalayaay
- Scientific name: Capra hircus
Goats are a domesticated animal that can be kept as livestock for meat or dairy products. There are large populations of feral Goats in Australia that are not cared for or owned by people.
Feral Goats are a threat to healthy Country
Goats can harm Country because they foul waterholes and graze and browse on a wide variety of native vegetation, leading to:
- Decline in native plant health from overgrazing
- Poor seedling regeneration
- Soil erosion
- Spread of weeds
- Water pollution
Particularly during droughts, Goats can degrade native animal habitats like important breeding areas for Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) and compete for food resources and shelter with native animal species like Yellow-Footed Rock Wallabies (Petrogale xanthopus).
Goats are listed as a declared pest in all Australian states and territories except Tasmania, and competition and land degradation by Feral Goats is identified as one of the key threatening processes to native species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. There is a national Threat Abatement Plan for competition and land degradation by unmanaged Goats.
Managing goats
Total eradication of feral Goats is not currently possible because of how widespread and well-adapted they are to Australia. Best practice management of feral Goats should aim to reduce the impact on Australia’s biodiversity. Control methods for unmanaged Goats include:
- Mustering for commercial sale
- Aerial shooting
- Trapping at water points
- Local eradication from islands or fenced areas
- Judas goats
Where Goats live
Occurrence Records
Use the + - Zoom controls to select an area
Where they live
Goats were brought to Australia as domestic animals by early European colonisers. Feral herds have since established across large parts of Australia.
Habitat
Goats are found in agricultural areas including pastoral lands with remnant native vegetation, and in many different native environments across Australia. They prefer woodlands, grasslands and rocky outcrops, and usually live near water sources in arid and semi-arid areas.
What Goats look like
Goats are medium, four-legged animals with hooves. Their coats can be short or shaggy and can be white, brown, black or a combination of colours. Male and female Goats have curved horns. Feral goats are usually smaller than domestic Goats.
Goat (Capra hircus). Credit: Misima Burns, CC-BY-NC-4.0 (Int).
Better understand:
REMEMBER! Any time you do work that might disturb or interfere with native animals and vegetation, particularly threatened species, you need to check with the state authorities to see if you need any approvals, such as licences or animal ethics committee permits. Click here for links to your state’s websites.
- Where Feral Goats are and aren’t on Countr
- How many Feral Goats live on Country
- How well management of Country and Feral Goats is working
By using one or more of the following methods, you can better understand Feral Goats on your Country. If you monitor the same place at the same time every year, you can see if there are changes to Feral Goats on Country.
2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey
A good way to monitor Feral Goats is by searching 2 ha areas for all signs of Goats, including tracks and scats. The survey is used to find signs of lots of different animals, not just Feral Goats. This survey doesn’t need specialised equipment but it is useful to have some tracking skills.
What can you learn?
- Presence/absence – if and where Feral Goats live on Country
- Occupancy - If enough plots surveyed, the presence/absence data can be used to estimate occupancy. This type of modelling helps to work how many places really have Feral Goats, even if they weren’t detected at every plot. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be and if is getting smaller/bigger over time.
- Activity - how many signs of Feral Goats were detected during the survey. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be.
Using it the Right-way
You can learn more about the 2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey on the “How we check on things” page and in the Environmental Monitoring Method 2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey.
Remote Camera Survey
Remote cameras can be set up to take photos whenever an animal passes in front of the camera. This method is useful for Feral Goats because it means you don’t have to search for them. The survey is used to detect lots of different animals, not just Feral Goats.
What can you learn?
- Presence/absence – if and where Feral Goats live on Country
- Occupancy - If enough cameras are deployed at different sites, the presence/absence data can be used to estimate occupancy. This type of modelling helps to work how many places really have Feral Goats, even if they weren’t detected on every camera. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be and if is getting smaller/bigger over time.
- Activity - how many detections of Feral Goats during the survey. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be.
Using it the Right-way
If you are only interested in Goats, then cameras should be deployed in their preferred habitats and in areas where there are signs of Feral Goats (e.g. scat, tracks, damaged vegetation).
You can learn more about camera traps on the “How we check on things” page and in the Environmental Monitoring Method Landscape Scale Camera Trap Monitoring.
Aerial Surveys
This is a method where a helicopter or small aircraft is flown over a large area of Country to look for Feral Goats. You can use this method to monitor how many Feral Goats there are and where they are living on Country.
Any time you do work that might disturb or interfere with native animals and vegetation, check with the state authorities to see if you need any approvals.
VIEW PERMIT INFO
Less stress for animals: Camera trap monitoring collects data without catching and handling animals. Animals are often stressed if they are caught and handled by people.
Do the time for you: Camera traps can capture data for long periods of time, requiring less time on Country. Monitoring over longer …
This is a method where trackers search a 2 Ha area for all signs of animals, including tracks, scats, diggings and other signs. If signs of a species are found in a plot, its presence is recorded. This method doesn’t focus only on feral Goats, as the presence of all species is recorded.
Primary sources
This landing page was developed using the following sources:
Primary sources
This landing page was developed using the following sources:
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Threatened Species Recovery Hub (2021). Arid Zone Monitoring Species Profile: Goat. Project 3.2.5 findings factsheet. NESP. https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/media/abhledhr/azm_species-profile_goat_v1.pdf
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Department of the Environment and Energy (2008). Threat abatement plan for competition and land degradation by unmanaged goats. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/competition-and-land-degradation-unmanaged-goats
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Sharp, T. (2012.) National Code of Practice for the humane control of feral goats. https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/code-of-practice-feral-goats
Tools and resources
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Codes for humane capture, handling and destruction of feral animals in Australia: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/publications/model-codes-practice-feral-animals
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Record Feral Goat sightings and control activities on the FeralGoatScan app: https://www.feralscan.org.au/feralgoatscan/default.aspx
Tools and resources
No additional tools or resources found.