The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: Yberllan on February 08, 2017, 09:15:54 am

Title: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Yberllan on February 08, 2017, 09:15:54 am
Hi,

I have a smallholding with Sheep and Pigs - a friend of mine has come across via a friend of a friend, a 'pet' goat that is ill cared for and I think that the owners have just given up on the poor girl - her name is Louise.

I have never been involved with rescue animals other than dogs, how do I go about bringing a rescue onto my holding, that present owner, will not do a movement order and wants nothing further to do with her.  The poor girls feet were so so overgrown that she could barely walk.

I have a calf hutch set up for her housing, and although she will be on her own we are about and will give her lots of attention. She a apparently very nervous and not used to people.

Can anyone advise what we do in regards to tagging and movement orders etc, she isnt tagged, and I can obtain no movement order.

Anyone with any advise could you please help me?

One soon to be goat owner!
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: farmershort on February 08, 2017, 09:24:45 am
get her onto your holding, then ring your local animal health and explain. They will sort you out.

We had to do this once.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Talana on February 08, 2017, 09:37:25 am
As a first step you would be best to contact animal health FIRST and explain the situation and I would think the rspca would have something to say about it as well.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Yberllan on February 08, 2017, 09:41:14 am
OK, thank you for hte advise - I cant bear that she is suffering, the RSPCA, would they turn her over to us?
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: farmershort on February 08, 2017, 09:57:37 am
If you ring AH and ask them in advance, they will probably just say that you need a movement license.

No one (as far as I know) ever got arrested for rescuing a goat.

Once you've got the goat, you explain the situation to AH, and they will come down like a tonne of bricks on the previous owner... going into herd records, previous licenses, medication records etc etc... none of which the previous owner probably has.

Try the RSPCA, but they weren't that interested when we tried. Huge organisation, with not enough money, and a lot of process.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: harmony on February 08, 2017, 10:28:47 am
I assume you are talking to the owner so maybe you can ask why they can't or won't do a licence. Maybe the goat never officially arrived with them. Maybe they haven't got a licence and don't know how to do one.


Tell them you are willing to take the goat but ideally you need the licence because otherwise when you tell the authorities you have the goat which you will have to when you do our annual return or both of you could be in trouble. I suspect they are not registered to keep goats and don't have a licence for the movement on.


If the situation is as I suspect the one above I would get them to sign the goat over and get her to yours and then contact animal health. Under the circumstances as others have said it will get sorted.


Sending the authorities in whilst obviously there is a welfare issue might well mean you wont get the goat. And as you are clearly willing to take her and look after her that would be a shame.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 08, 2017, 11:29:55 am
Personally, unless you do want to get owner into trouble, where you may end up having to testify against them, and RSPCA may take the goat to keep as 'evidence', i would get the goat, keep in quarantine, tell animal health you found it dumped in your field, no-one locally knows anything about it.
My first sheep just appeared in our field and just stayed. Local health man said 'you are now a sheep owner', and helped me sort paperwork out.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Anke on February 08, 2017, 03:13:33 pm
As newcomer to goats are you sure you will be able to deal with the problems this goat may bring with her adequately? How much do you know about goat management, diseases s/he may bring with him/her etc. Do you have deep pockets, as vets are expensive?

We all have at one time or another felt sorry for an animal(s) that we feel is not looked after well. But thinking about the implications for your existing stock should make you stop and think very hard about taking in waifs and strays...

What is the health status of your sheep flock - a goat without any background information may just jeopardise years of hard work to eliminate certain issues - CAE/MV, lameness or other feet trouble, worms/fluke, Johne's, bTB...

Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Old Shep on February 08, 2017, 08:02:21 pm
Well this isn't my advice, this is just an admission of what I would do.


GET THE GOAT!!!!


And then I'd worry about bureaucracy later.


And then I'd learn what to do with goats :-) - its not rocket science.  :goat: :goat: :goat: :goat:
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 08, 2017, 08:35:03 pm
And then I'd learn what to do with goats :-) - its not rocket science.  :goat: :goat: :goat: :goat:
And obviously we are here for general advice.  :-).
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: landroverroy on February 08, 2017, 09:16:35 pm
Well this isn't my advice, this is just an admission of what I would do.


GET THE GOAT!!!!


And then I'd worry about bureaucracy later.


And then I'd learn what to do with goats :-) - its not rocket science.  :goat: :goat: :goat: :goat:

Couldn't agree more!!
It's the goat that's important here- not the paperwork. Not having an ear tag or movement order isn't a hanging offence.

But for heavens sake DON'T involve RSPCA. Getting the last owner into trouble will not help the goat. Their knowledge of goats is probably less than yours and their quest for justification and history of totally unreasonable seizure of animals is enormous. (This isn't the place for me to give you horror stories of their treatment of perfectly innocent people and animals.)

So - go for it! And good luck.   
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Lesley Silvester on February 09, 2017, 12:26:47 am
That's what I'd go for as well but it would be wise to keep her as far from your other animals as possible until you have had her checked over by a vet.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 09, 2017, 01:22:38 am
That's what I'd go for as well but it would be wise to keep her as far from your other animals as possible until you have had her checked over by a vet.
Yes, she may have various parasites, you wouldn't want your stock picking anything up, I would think if she had disease etc, if she's been neglected for so long she'd be either very ill or dead by now. Not sure about CAE etc?
Have you decided what to do Yberllan?
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: pharnorth on February 09, 2017, 11:44:21 am
I agree with Old Shep on this one. You sound like a sensible person who has experience of two other species so you know all about isolation, dealing with the basic health issues and getting the authorities involved first leaves you with less or no autonomy. A 'someone dumped this goat on me what do I need to do' line with AH should move the legal side and preferably speak to the Vet at the same time so they are able to advise.  I wouldn't touch the over political under performing RSPCA with a barge pole.  Some of us are old enough to remember when they were a valuable and worthwhile organisation.
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Yberllan on February 13, 2017, 09:33:07 am
Hi - Quick update - Louise is now at home on our holding, all sorted with APHA and now have a goat herd number.  Have ordered her tags.  She is such a sweet little thing. I can only assume that she was bought as a pet and then they got bored!
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: harmony on February 13, 2017, 09:40:30 am
Hi - Quick update - Louise is now at home on our holding, all sorted with APHA and now have a goat herd number.  Have ordered her tags.  She is such a sweet little thing. I can only assume that she was bought as a pet and then they got bored!


Of course now she needs a friend called Thelma  :goat:
Title: Re: URGENT HELP - Rescue Goat
Post by: Penninehillbilly on February 13, 2017, 11:05:02 am
Hi - Quick update - Louise is now at home on our holding, all sorted with APHA and now have a goat herd number.  Have ordered her tags.  She is such a sweet little thing. I can only assume that she was bought as a pet and then they got bored!
Good news, how did you do It?