Options for the control of parasites in the Australian goat Industry

Summary

Goatmeat is the most widely consumed meat in the world and Australia is one of the major exporters. The goat industry has been growing rapidly to capitalise on this market and in 2005-2006 this sector was valued at A$97.7 million. The industry also includes smaller fibre and dairy sectors valued at about A$5 million which often also sell into the goatmeat market. As with most livestock industries, parasites increase costs of production and can cause significant production losses if not properly controlled. Although growing rapidly, the goat industry is still small relative to the more mainstream livestock industries and has a limited number of effective parasiticides available for control. 
Objectives of this review were to: 
(i) provide an assessment of key parasites, their impact in the Australian goat industry and current control practices; 
(ii) develop guidelines to maximise and preserve the efficacy of currently registered products; 
(iii) identify currently unavailable parasiticides that would be beneficial to the goat industry and define the processes required to make them legally available and, 
(iv) identify alternative non-chemical measures that could be used to reduce reliance on chemical parasiticides. 
A survey addressing the extent of problems from endo and ectoparasites, and control practices was circulated to 1500 producers. Useable responses were returned from 195. Gastrointestinal parasites were always or mostly a problem on 26% of properties and sometimes a problem on 59% whereas lice were always or mostly a problem for 9% of respondents and sometimes a problem for 53%. Coccidiosis was sometimes a problem for 31% of respondents. Eighty-eight percent of respondents used drenches to control worms, whereas 56% treated for lice and 28% percent treated for coccidiosis. The limited availability of effective goat parasiticides meant that products registered for control of similar parasites in other livestock species were often used. A range of non chemical parasite management techniques were also employed.