Meet our new four-legged firefighters

In a novel trial, the NSW RFS recently recruited a team of goats to perform several hazard reductions across the state. The honorary four-legged firefighters were leased from local farmers to graze on grass and shrubs in a controlled trial on fireprone land in western NSW.

The first trial site was at Clandulla, a small village between Lithgow and Mudgee, during August 2021. The goats grazed a block of Crown land with a variety of vegetation sites. Another grazing trial was undertaken at Werris Creek, near Tamworth.

Each individual goat can graze an area of 100m2 per week, depending on vegetation type and density. It generally takes about three weeks for a herd of 30 calm and experienced Boer goats to graze 1-2 hectares of vegetation, depending on the desired outcome.

Pictured from left to right are Superintendent Paul Whiteley, Billie Johnson, Michael Blewitt and Inspector Troy Gersback. Michael and Billie are the Boer Goat suppliers, proprietors of Dry Creek Farm.

Photo by Kim Smith.

The goats work in an enclosed area and consume most things up to two metres off the ground including weeds, sticks, grass and shrubs. After the goats have gone through, the trial sites look as if a cool burn has been undertaken.

The trial is part of continued efforts by the NSW RFS to explore a range of hazard reduction techniques to better understand the effectiveness of different practices. “

The NSW RFS is always keen to learn more about how we can improve and enhance the ways we prepare areas ahead of fire season,” says Inspector Troy Gersback. “These goats provide an alternative to burning which is heavily reliant on favourable weather. The four-legged firefighting crews will be reducing the fuel loads rain, hail or shine.”

The goats are less expensive than most forms of mechanical removal and much less environmentally intrusive than any machine.

Boer Goats on location at Clandulla. This breed is well known for their versatility, size and ability to suppress re-growth after bush thinning and to graze on plants up to 1.8 meters high, standing on their hind legs.

Photo by Troy Gersback

They will happily work in rocky or steep terrain that is unsafe for humans and their ability to graze in any weather means there is no need to wait for the perfect conditions for a burn.

As an added bonus, the goats’ natural browsing habits and tough stomachs enable them to eat weed species that are poisonous or unpalatable to other herbivores. T

he weed seeds are broken down in the goat’s digestion, meaning there is no risk of cross contamination between sites.

Next time you see a herd of goats munching their way through the undergrowth, they might be the latest recruits of the NSW RFS.