Production and management systems used for goats in some island countries in the South Pacific region

Abstract

In the South Pacific region, goats are not regarded as traditional animals. However, most countries have selected goat as an animal for consideration. Three systems of production are found: village system, semi-intensive system and extensive system. The number of animals kept, the people's culture and taboo have influenced the production system used in the country. Several constraints attribute to the low goat population and production in the South Pacific region. Amongst these are: low demand for goat meat in most countries except Fiji and Papua New Guinea; the taboo that most island countries' population do not like goat meat; that goat is considered as destructive animal therefore requires high fences to enclose them; high loses due to predators like dogs; environmental constraints; and technical, economic and social situation of goat keepers. Goats and their livestock can be integrated with cropping systems and due to their small size, goats could be more suitable than cattle.