Goat Meat Increase
Despite the economic gloom circling the planet there still seems to be a place for meat in peoples’ budget. One abattoir in Australia has managed to process 24,000 goats in two weeks. The horror of that scene does not bare imagining.
From ABC News
The Western Exporters Abattoir in Charleville was forced to close earlier this year because it could not find enough workers.
It has now been able to employ more overseas workers under the 457 visa program.
Managing director Neil Duncan says it processed 24,000 goats in the past two weeks for export markets.
“Well mainly to the US, Taiwan, our normal customers,” he said.
“We should have been doing these sort of numbers years ago, we need to do that to keep up with the goat industry.
From Farmed Animal Watch
The US goat farming and slaughter industry is experiencing rapid growth in part based on increased demand from Muslims, Hispanics, Indians, and other ethnic minorities. According to the American Boer Goat Association (ABGA), goat flesh is the “fastest-growing segment in agriculture.” Indeed, total consumption of goat flesh in the US grew by 64% from 1999 to 2003 and is expected to grow by 10% per year in the short term future. The industry changed dramatically in the early 1990s when Boer goats were imported from South Africa, replacing the much smaller goats traditionally raised by US farmers. The US also ceased paying government subsidies to farmers raising goats for mohair or cashmere around the same time, prompting some farmers to switch to raising the animals for meat production.
As of January 1, 2005, nearly 2 million goats were being kept on farms for slaughter; another half-million goats were being kept for angora and milk production. This is according to the first complete annual survey of goat farming conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Despite growing consumption, however, the goat industry’s total size is largely unchanged from 2002 when the same number of goats (just less than 2 million) was kept on farms for slaughter. Because of increased demand but relatively stagnant supply, the US imported 17 million pounds of goat flesh in 2003, an increase of one-third more than 2001. One increasingly popular item, especially among Hispanics, is caproetta, which is the flesh of a “baby goat that was still suckling its mother.” Several high-end restaurants in New York City are reportedly carrying the product.
1. “No Kidding; America’s Booming Goat Industry,” MeatPoultry.com / The Economist, 8/27/05
http://tinyurl.com/8yx7a (meatpoultry.com)
2. “Livestock Reports: Sheep and Goats,” USDA / NASS, 1/28/05
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/livestock/pgg-bb/shep0105.txt
