These unique island-dwelling goats need saving, so advocates hope you’ll eat them

They started out as a life-saving food source for stranded sailors, but now a unique breed of island-dwelling goats is in need of rescue.

Advocates hope the promotion of Percy Island goats for their meat and milk will help to manage population numbers.

Descended from 12 animals abandoned on the Great Barrier Reef island in the late 1800s, the population has boomed.

And while the goats’ one-of-a-kind DNA has not changed their status as an invasive species, supporters of the heritage breed want to secure their future.

From saviours to needing rescue

In the late 1800s, sailors navigating Queensland’s coast faced significant peril, attempting to sail the treacherous waters of an unmapped Great Barrier Reef.

Those stranded and in search of food found solace on Percy Island, 125 kilometres south of Mackay, where goats from around the world had been strategically left by colonists for their meat and milk.

But over time the expeditions and the shipwrecks, stopped and the goats were left to fend for themselves on the 2,000 hectare island.

More than 150 years later, the Percy Island Goats have thrived in their solitude, evolving from the original 12 to thousands of individuals now living in a national park.

Advocates such as Diana Barfield from Queensland Goat Producers Incorporated (QGoat) fear that the animals’ success could be their downfall.

“Over 150 years in isolation they have evolved to their unique DNA code,” she said.

“Once the genetic DNA is lost it’s gone forever.

“We’re trying to save them from eradication off the island.”

Despite having had their unique DNA confirmed by experts and their status listed as a heritage breed, the goats are not protected.

The goats are considered a restricted invasive species under Queensland law, which allows for culling to control numbers.

In a nod to their beginnings as a food source, advocates for the breed hope that by promoting the quality of the goats’ meat will help manage the population and endear the breed to the mainland market.

How to save a breed by eating it

Louise Drew is among the QGoat members working to promote the goats as a source of meat and milk.

Her enquiries with butchers have found the meat to be high quality, with a better ratio of meat when compared to mainland breeds.

“You’d probably dress out about 20 to 25 kilos, which is good for a small family to put in the freezer,” she said.

“They’re not bad little milkers. They can produce about two litres a day.

“Once an animal’s worth something then people think they’re worthwhile saving, and that’s what we’re about, saving these beautiful little animals.”

Ms Drew’s daughter Katrina owns a café in Finch Hatton, west of Mackay, where Percy Island Goats are on the menu.

“It started as an idea to keep preserving the breed as well as put it into use,” she said.

“There are not many people or restaurants or cafes out there that are specialising in goat meat.

“It’s something a bit different, something local, and promoting it so that people understand what’s happened in the past and why Percys were put on the island.”

She said Percy Island Goats had a noticeably distinct taste.

“A bit more leanness to it. It doesn’t seem to be as fatty and the meat doesn’t seem to be as strong,” she said.

Cate Radclyffe lived on Percy Island for 12 years and has been an outspoken advocate for the protection of the goats.

She said the goats were brilliant weed control assets, by nibbling away at cacti and prickly pear that runs rampant across the island.

“Percy Island is famous for the goat stews and the barbecues down at the beach. So that’s how we utilise the animals that we control on the island,” she said.