World Goat News:

[mikey]

By Peter Michael
April 07, 2009 12:00am

A CASTAWAY cattle dog has been reunited with her owners after surviving four months on a tropical north Queensland island eating goats and koalas.

In a miraculous tale of survival, owner Jan Griffith said the family pet and "indoor" dog was making world headlines after her emotional homecoming.

"People are just like 'wow'," Ms Griffith, of Mackay, said yesterday.

"We wish she could talk, we really do."

Sophie Tucker, a four-year-old blue heeler, had disappeared feared dead when she was washed overboard in choppy seas during a family boat trip last November.

But unseen by her devastated owners, who searched two days for their pet, the hardy hound swam five nautical miles to nearby Keswick Island, near Mackay.

"We hit a rough patch and when we turned around the dog was gone," Ms Griffith said. "We searched for her for ages, it was terrible, we were convinced she had drowned."

The canine castaway was last week reunited with family after rangers trapped what they thought was a wild dog.

"She had become quite wild and vicious," Ms Griffith said. "She wouldn't let anyone go near her or touch her."

Sophie Tucker, named after a famous 1900s vaudeville artist, had been spotted "in very poor condition" by a family on Keswick Island and then by a caretaker on St Bees island.

"It's the blue cattle dog thing, extreme loyalty, she could have gone to those people and gone on to have a nice life," Ms Griffith said. "But clearly she was not going to be anybody else's dog but ours.

"She was seen on St Bees looking pretty poor and then all of a sudden she started to look good and that was when they discovered she was eating wild baby goats."

Marine Park rangers also reported she had been hunting koalas.

Ms Griffith said blue heelers had been crossed with dingoes to make them "tougher" and her family pet had reverted to her basic instincts.

They heard rangers had trapped a wild dog and met them at Mackay harbour last Tuesday.

"She was quite vicious in the cage but apparently relaxed as they came into harbour," Ms Griffith said.

"When we called her she started whimpering and banging the cage.

"They let her out and she just about flattened us.

"And at that point there was not a dry eye in the house.

"She gave each of us a slurp on cheek and has slotted back into life with us like you would not believe."

Yesterday, the celebrity survivor pooch enjoyed her usual diet of mince and dog biscuits before taking the family on an afternoon walk.

 

[mikey]

SHEEP:

TERMINAL SLAUGHTER SHEEP- Wednesday Apr 29, 2009. There are no estimated slaughter sheep on offer this morning in Terminal Markets.

SIOUX FALLS, SD SLAUGHTER SHEEP & GOAT CLOSE- Tuesday Apr 28, 2009. Receipts: Sheep 397; Goats 26. Due to light receipts of slaughter lambs last week, a meaningful trend not possible; however, on a light test a sharply higher undertone noted. Compared to last week Good grade slaughter ewes sold 2.00-3.00 higher, while the Utility and Cull grades sold 2.00-3.00 lower. Today's offering of New Crop feeder lambs sold mixed. A consignment of 43 lbs sold dollars higher. The other weights sold with a lower undertone noted. Today's receipts about 10 percent slaughter lambs; 40 percent slaughter ewes; 40 percent feeder lambs and the balance was bucks and misc. sheep. Buyer attendance good with good to very good demand.

Slaughter Lambs: Wooled Choice and Prime 2-3 120-130 lbs (123) 111.86; pkg 140 lbs 110.00. Wooled Choice 1-2 pkg guant 100 lbs 116.50.

Slaughter Ewes: Good 1-3 fleshy 160-175 lbs (165) 41.56. Good 2-3 fleshy 130-150 lbs (140) 35.81; pkg 175 lbs 39.00. Good 2-4 fleshy pkg 195 lbs 35.44; 200-220 lbs (211) 32.43. Utility and Good 1-3 Medium Flesh and Fleshy 160-200 lbs (169) 25.25. Cull and Utility 1-2 Thin and Medium Flesh 135-155 lbs (145) 21.00. Ewes Cull 1 thin 120-135 lbs (130) 10.52.

Feeder Lambs: Medium and Large 1-2 pkg 45 lbs 152.00; pkg 55 lbs 124.35; pkg 75 lbs 125.00; pkg 85 lbs 111.00; pkg 100 lbs 105.57. Medium and Large 2 pkg 85 lbs 101.00.

Slaughter Kids: Selection 1 pkg 55 lbs 167.00; pkg 60 lbs 140.00.

Slaughter Nannies/Does: Selection 1 pkg 120 lbs 59.50.

NATIONAL SHEEP SUMMARY- Tuesday Apr 28, 2009. At New Holland, PA slaughter lambs were 2.00-4.00 lower and slaughter ewes were steady to 2.00 lower. At San Angelo, TX heavy slaughter lambs not well tested; light slaughter lambs 15.00- 20.00 higher; slaughter ewes 3.00-5.00 lower; feeder lambs not tested. 3,600 head estimated for the one day sale.

ESTIMATED SHEEP SLAUGHTER UNDER FEDERAL INSPECTION: (Mon-Tue) Week to Date 17,000; Last Week 18,000; Year Ago 16,000.

CARLOT LAMB CARCASS- Tuesday Apr 28, 2009. 0 hd (Prices bases on Weighted Average) ..Today's trades not reportable because they did not meet the 3/70/20 guideline for carcass lambs. Below is the last reported market as of 4/27/2009...

SOURCE: USDA- MO Dept of AG Market News Service, St.

[mikey]

Goat price boost for SA
MIRANDA KENNY
18/05/2009 10:39:00 AM
GOAT prices are set to rise in South Australia as a new buyer looks to consolidate sale averages.
A collaboration between an Adelaide livestock buying company and a Victorian abattoir will see up to 7000 goats bought weekly from SA and neighbouring States.

Leonard Livestock director Paul Leonard and goat buyer Alick Scott will be in charge of SA sales, with goats being processed at Cedar Meats' Brooklyn, Vic, abattoir.

Mr Leonard said current over-the-hooks goat prices were set at $1.70 a kilogram for goats at 10-16kg carcase weight, and $1.80/kg for goats at 16kgcw-plus.

A shortage of sheep had meant he had to use goats as another option to fill kill space, but he intended to be in the goat market for the long-term.

"There is a real shortage of mutton at the moment and it's going to take five to six years for sheep numbers to build up again," he said.

"There is room for us to be here, and demand from SA producers. I think we've already had a positive effect on the market ? prices have already risen 20-30c/kg."

He planned to concentrate on buying mutton and goats, because light-medium weight mutton and goatmeat mostly sold to the same overseas markets in Mexico, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, May 14 issue.

[mikey]

FAO forecasts void in lamb supply
[13 August 2010] The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has said that within five years there could be a 300,000-tonne void in lamb supply due to growth in demand of 1.6 million tonnes, mostly from China. Meat and Livestock Australia is looking to fill this gap, but Beef and Lamb NZ chairman Mike Petersen said demand was starting to slip as well in traditional lamb export markets such as Europe. He said two things were needed to capture younger consumers - hey had to be educated on the taste of lamb and how to cook it, and exporters had to supply the meat in consumer-ready packs. Sheep flocks around the world were shrinking, creating new opportunities and Mr Petersen said New Zealand should be able to capture some of that global demand by improving on farm productivity.

[mikey]

South Australia maintains low Ovine Johne's Disease status
//16 Dec 2010
Prevalence areas for fatal sheep disease OJD will be downgraded in Victoria, Western Australia and some parts of New South Wales from 1 January 2011.
Dr Rob Rahaley, South Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, urges all sheep producers to familiarise themselves with the new movement requirements, under the national Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD) control program.

“The national sheep industry recently recommended these changes in prevalence areas and scores, as a result of increased detections in Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales,” Dr Rahaley said. “While South Australia’s prevalence areas have not changed, producers wanting to import sheep from medium to high prevalence areas interstate, or from Kangaroo Island (medium prevalence area), must be familiar with the new rules. “This is critical for mainland South Australia to maintain its low OJD prevalence rating and to help to further prevent the spread of the disease when trading sheep. “Our low prevalence area status is evidence of industry and government’s $9 million investment, since 1998, in controlling the disease.”

The reclassification of the prevalence areas and OJD scores will result in Victoria’s north-west and Western Australia’s prevalence areas dropping from a score of 4 to 2, while mainland SA retains a score of 4. Dr Rahaley said the relevance of this to cross border trade is the key premise of the national OJD program.


NOTE:one of the main reasons why the USA and Canada does not allow imports of live goats and sheep into N.America is the fear of Johnes disease.Countries will high sheep numbers are prone to Johnes dease.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Prize-winning Colorado goat in doping row Weinroth has passed the age limit for Colorado goat competitions
The grand champion goat from this year's Colorado State Fair has been disqualified after testing positive for an unapproved feed additive.

Margaret Weinroth, who raised Theodore the goat, will not receive its $5,500 (£3,500) sale price and is barred from future livestock events at the fair.

A second goat raised by the Weinroth family also tested positive for the additive, ractopamine.

They denied any wrongdoing and said their feed may have been tampered with.

Tests carried out on Theodore's urine revealed traces of ractopamine, a muscle growth additive approved by the federal government for use by swine but not goats.

Sabotage theory
 
Teenager Margaret Weinroth is an animal science student at Colorado State University.

She has a track record of rearing prize-winning goats, with another of her animals claiming top honours at the National Western Stock show in 2010, the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper reported.

Susan Weinroth, Margaret's mother, told reporters the family's animals have always tested clean and that the family was shocked.

The feed for both goats had been "moved and dumped and tampered with" during the fair, she said.

Theodore and a goat raised by Margaret's younger brother both became sick after eating the feed, Ms Weinroth said.

"I can't say if it was sabotage. All I can say is what happened," she said.

Chris Wiseman, general manager of the Colorado State Fair, which ran in August and September, told the Associated Press that Ms Weinroth had told him about the feed incident.

While the sale money would still be lost, Mr Wiseman said the ban on participating in future events would be lifted if officials find someone else did place the food additive in the goat's feed.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Texas A&M Researchers Create Goat With Malaria Vaccine In Her Milk


Over at the Texas A&M Reproductive Sciences Complex, you'll find several animals with unique capabilities.

Goat number 21 is one of those creatures.

"This project is one of the most interesting that we've been involved with because it has so much potential world wide," said Texas A&M researcher Charles Long.

Long & fellow A&M researcher Mark Westhusin keep a careful eye on goat number 21 because her milk holds a vaccine for malaria.

"There are lots of different things that one can think about producing in the milk. Malaria vaccine is one that's really important because there's a big demand for it in a lot of impoverished countries," said Westhusin.

Through genetic engineering, this goat could be the golden goose when it comes to preventing malaria in third world countries. A disease that kills a child in Africa every minute according to the World Health Organization.

"What you'd have is an animal that could be in any village around the world and all natives would have to do is drink some of that milk and be immunized against malaria," said Long.

But before any of that happens, this goat has to jump through a lot of hoops.

"We'd love to start air dropping goats into Africa but the reality is we're not going to be able to achieve that objective for another five or 10 years at least," joked Long.

"What we have to do is milk the goat, purify the protein, then we'd have to do all kinds of clinical testing and safety testing. Just like as if we were to take any drug and go to market with it," said Westhusin.

Step number one will be waiting for this motherly goat to give birth, which will happen in the next week. That's when testing on the milk will intensify and the offspring checked to see if they carry on the gene that carries on the vaccine.

"That's when we get to start to collect this milk, storing the milk to extract out the antigen that will become the vaccine," said Long.　
　
It's estimated that malaria kills between 650,000 and 1.2 million people every year.

Researches at the Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology Department are also working on animals that are more disease resistant, more feed efficient, and produce milk that produces lower fat.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

SALT LAKE CITY — A man spotted dressed in a goat suit among a herd of wild goats in the mountains of northern Utah has wildlife officials worried he could be in danger as hunting season approaches.
 
Phil Douglass of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said Friday the person is doing nothing illegal, but he worries the so-called “goat man” is unaware of the dangers.
 
“My very first concern is the person doesn’t understand the risks,” Douglass said. “Who’s to say what could happen.”
 

Related

Can’t understand your goat? Maybe it’s his accent

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Douglass said a man hiking Sunday along Ben Lomond peak in the mountains above Ogden, about 40 miles (64 kilometres) north of Salt Lake City, spotted the person dressed like a goat among a herd of real goats. The person provided some blurry photographs to Douglass, who said they did not appear to have been altered.
 
Wildlife officials now just want to talk to the man so that he is aware of the dangers. There’s no telling what his intentions are, Douglass said, but it is believed he could just be an extreme wildlife enthusiast.
 




Fotolia

An actual goat (not a goat man)
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“People do some pretty out there things in the name of enjoying wildlife. But I’ve never had a report like this,” Douglass said. “There’s a saying we have among biologists — You don’t go far enough, you don’t get the data. You go too far, you don’t go home. The same is true with some wildlife enthusiasts.”
 
Douglass said 60 permits will be issued for goat hunting season in that area, which begins in September. He worries the goat man might be accidentally shot or could be attacked by a real goat.
 
“They may get agitated. They’re territorial. They are, after all, wild animals,” he said. “This person puts on a goat suit, he changes the game. But as long as he accepts responsibility, it’s not illegal.”
 
Douglass said wildlife officials received an anonymous call Thursday from an “agitated man” after the sighting was reported in local media. The caller simply said, “Leave goat man alone. He’s done nothing wrong.”’
 
“I want people to enjoy Utah’s wildlife. We live in a really neat place. We have wildlife all around us,” Douglass said. “We just want people to be safe.”
 
Coty Creighton, 33, spotted the goat man Sunday during his hike. He said he came across the herd, but noticed something odd about one goat that was trailing behind the rest.
 
“I thought maybe it was injured,” Creighton said Friday. “It just looked odd.”
 
He said he pulled out binoculars to get a closer look at the herd about 200 yards (meters) away and was shocked. The man appeared to be acting like a goat while wearing the crudely made costume, which had fake horns and a cloth mask with cut-out eye holes, Creighton said.
 
“I thought, ’What is this guy doing?’ ” Creighton said. “He was actually on his hands and knees. He was climbing over rocks and bushes and pretty rough terrain on a steep hillside.”
 
Creighton said the man occasionally pulled up his mask, apparently trying to navigate the rocky terrain. The man then appeared to spot Creighton.
 
“He just stopped in his tracks and froze,” he said.
 
Creighton moved down the mountain and hid behind a tree, then began snapping photographs.
 
The goat man then put his mask back on, Creighton said, got back down on his hands and knees and scurried to catch up with the herd.
 
“We were the only ones around for miles,” Creighton said. “It was real creepy.”
 
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Posted in: News, World  Tags: animals, goats, utah

[Mustang Sally Farm]

An argument over sacrificing goats during a Hindu festival triggered a stampede that killed 10 people in a packed temple in northern India. More than 40,000 people, many inebriated, had taken their goats to the Tildiha village temple in Bihar state to offer sacrifice and prayers to the goddess Durga on the last day of the Navratri festival. As the worshippers lined up before the butcher, a scuffle broke out and some people were trampled. "People were vying with each other to get their goats sacrificed first, and they had a verbal duel with the butcher,". Four women and six men died in the stampede, and another 11 were injured, three of them critically, Banka district police director Neelmani said. The injured were being treated in hospitals. The district spokesman said some 30,000 goats were sacrificed at the temple on Saturday. The 10-day Navratri festival honours Durga, the mother goddess in the Hindu religion. The village in Banka district is about 200km southeast of Bihar's state capital, Patna