Distribution, abundance and harvesting of feral goats in the Australian rangelands 1984-2011. Final report to the ACRIS Management Committtee

The Australian Collaborative Rangelands Information System (ACRIS), through Ninti One Ltd., commissioned Biosecurity Queensland to collate and analyse aerial survey data to determine trends in the abundance and distribution of feral goats and their commercial harvest over the past three decades in the rangelands of Australia. Objectives i. Collate a national rangelands dataset for feral goat abundance from available aerial survey data and calculate densities for IBRA bioregions. ii. Investigate the need to correct for visibility bias and the potential to do this based on available data. iii. Map goat densities for selected years in relation to IBRA bioregions. iv. Map change in feral goat abundance over time. v. Provide estimates of the proportion of the goat population in each survey area that is truly feral or is managed. vi. Collate available regional data on numbers of goats harvested to supplement the survey data. vii. Assess suitability and possibility of improvements to existing survey data for reporting change in feral goat densities and to existing harvest data for determining the impact of harvesting on feral goat populations