Goat Central

Goat producers buy into new welfare standards and guidelines

Sheep Central, February 28, 2017

GOAT producers are flocking to get a copy of their industry’s welfare standards and guidelines.

Since being launched in July last year, about 40 copies of the Australian Industry Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Goats have been mailed to breeders.

Animal Health Australia’s project manager for welfare, Kelly Wall said countless more copies had been downloaded from the AHA website as the document proved popular among a range of goat producers.

“The strong take-up of this important document speaks volumes about Australia’s goat producer community and we certainly encourage everyone to get a copy by downloading it from the Animal Welfare Standards website or emailing [email protected] for a hard copy,” she said.

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AHA has been assisting goat producers across the country improve their welfare practices and now those same producers are encouraging everyone in the industry to grab a copy. The voluntary standards and guidelines booklet was funded by the Goat Industry Council of Australia and developed by AHA to provide advice on welfare topics from housing facilities and equipment to breeding and dairy management.

AHA said the standards and guidelines involved targeted consultation with goat producers at various levels of the supply chain and from different product sectors, state representatives, animal welfare organisations and veterinarians. Although the document is a voluntary guide, it still has the ability to inform a nationally uniform approach to ensuring goat welfare is adhered to, AHA said.

Victorian dairy goat producer Chris Lamin, said the guidelines are a valuable resource, particularly for those new to the industry and she is encouraging all goat owners to get a copy.

“The goat welfare standards and guidelines are a really good base from which you can build your individual goat husbandry and biosecurity program from.

“It is an excellent place to start for anyone new into goats, regardless of the size of their enterprise or the type of goats being run,” she said.

Click here to access the Australian Industry Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Goats.

Source: Animal Health Australia.

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