Mustering goats with dogs
Mustering wild goats in difficult terrain and in thick vegetation is extremely challenging. For a dog to become successful at mustering goats it must first know how to work livestock such as sheep and cattle.
These dogs must:
- be intelligent
- be well trained
- understand handlers herding commands
- be able to work with minimal supervision at a distance
- not be aggressive or bite.
It’s recommended that young and inexperienced dogs are not used to muster goats as they can be easily injured, become overwhelmed and end up chasing the goats instead of mustering them.
Other legislation
Mustering, loading, transporting, unloading, holding and slaughtering of feral goats must be done with the minimum amount of stress, pain or suffering and follow all relevant National and NSW legislation. In addition to hunting licence rules and regulations, guidelines and legislation for other procedures can be found in:
- the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS)
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979
- Australian Standards and Guidelines for the Welfare of Animals — Land Transport of Livestock (AHA 2008)
- Pest Smart — standard operating procedure ‘Mustering of feral goats’ GOA003.
