A herd of 40 firefighting goats are chewing through hectares of fuel loads as the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) continues its Hazard Reduction Grazing trial in the State’s West.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott and Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders joined RFS crews near Mudgee today to meet the State’s first goat brigade, a recommendation of the Independent Bushfire Inquiry into the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20.
The goats, sourced from Dry Creek Farm, a local business, ‘cell-graze’ between different patches of undergrowth through high-risk areas, including Clandulla and Lue. The goats are particularly useful in terrain where conventional mitigation methods, such as burning or mechanical clearing, prove challenging.
The trial commenced in August, and will take place over several months and in different locations across NSW. It is estimated that the goats will eat approximately a quarter of a hectare of dense vegetation in two weeks, and medium density vegetation in one week.
Mr Elliott said the grazing trial responds to recommendation 21 and will better protect the community and the region from grass fires.
“This alternate mitigation strategy may look like a novel solution, but it provides an important advantage in that it can be implemented rain, hail or shine.”
“The goats are used to the hard yakka, are chewing through their KPI’s, and thankfully we don’t need to worry about them working on an empty stomach,” he said.
“This is such a simple but valuable way of mitigating the risk of fire, any kid could do it.”
RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said grazing will mitigate against grass fires, particularly in areas where mitigation crews and local brigades find it hard to reduce fuel loads.
“This grazing trial has seen remarkable progress in reducing fuel loads in the Clandulla area and we’re keen for this to continue in the area,” Commissioner Rogers said.
The NSW Government has committed almost half-a-billion dollars in response to the Inquiry, which includes almost $38 million for additional mitigation crews to deliver greater hazard reduction, with a total of 176,499 hectares treated in 2020-2021.
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