Overseas markets > Goat live exports

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Goats travel First Class

In a first for the industry, 3,490 head of goats were exported to Jakarta, Indonesia by a Qantas freighter aircraft on 30 May 2007.

The exporters, Halleen Australia Pty Ltd, were delighted with the outcome of the shipment with all animals arriving in good condition and being offloaded without incident.

Andrew Niemeyer of Charterair said, “It took considerable time and planning to ensure the loading of the animals and of course, the journey was safe and in accordance with the Standards for freighting livestock by air.”

“The knowledge of aircraft payload is critical. It is the experience gained over years of planning various loads which allows an exporter to maximise the number of animals uplifted on the day while ensuring the welfare of the animals”.

A critical success factor for such a consignment is the carrier. The Qantas 747 freighter has excellent airflow and ventilation and the animals were placed in specially designed crates that were sprinkled with ’Stable Plus’ a non toxic compound that absorbs ammonia molecules.

There are many benefits to transporting livestock by air, the most important ones being, less traveling and handling time for the animals as well as cost efficiencies for the exporter.

Fast fact: In 2006, Australia exported over 57,000 goats worth more than $7.1 million. Australia’s major export market is Malaysia.