Competition and habitat degradation by Feral Goats Capra hircus Linnaeus 1758 was listed as a KEY THREATENING PROCESS on Schedule 3 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 [12 November 2004].
Feral goats, Capra hircus, are found in most regions of Australia, with the highest densities seen in the arid and semi-arid pastoral regions of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia (Parkes et. al. 1996). Feral goats compete with native fauna for food, water and shelter. Feral goats browse on native plants, compete with native animals for shelter, damage Aboriginal sites and may transmit animal diseases. In the Oxley Wild Rivers national Park, research has shown that feral goats damage dry rainforest communities in the Macleay gorges and significantly increase soil erosion.
The following threatened species and ecological communities are known or are likely to be threatened by Feral Goats: Tawny Crevice Dragon, Leopard Ctenotus, Mallee Slender Blue-tongue Lizard, Marble-faced Delma, Centralian Ranges Rock-skink, Broad-headed Snake, Malleefowl, Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, Dodonaea stenozyga, Salt Pipewort, White-flowered Wax Plant, Grevillea beadleana, Grevillea iaspicula, Homoranthus binghiensis, Homoranthus bornhardtiensis, Homoranthus croftianus, Zieria parrisiae, Acacia carneorum, Bertya sp. Cobar-Coolabah, Acacia loderi Shrublands, Artesian Springs Ecological Community, and the Howell Shrublands in the New England Tableland and Nandewar Bioregions.
Competition and land degradation by feral Goats is listed as a key threatening process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and a national threat abatement plan has been prepared by the Department of Environment and Heritage.