A goat named Marrakesh set a new record when it was sold for $21,000. On Wednesday, the goat was put up for sale in the western New South Wales town of Cobar. Andrew Mosely, the buyer of Australia’s most expensive goat, characterized his purchase as a “quite elegant buck.” Mosely grew up in western New South Wales, where he used to herd wild goats and sell them for $5.
He states that the fact that there are considerably fewer wild goats left explains why goats like Marrakesh are so expensive. Farmers are now dependent on growing high-quality herds of their own to meet the demand for goat meat.
The previous record for the most costly goat sold in the country is $12,000. Brock, a buck, was said to have owned it until he was sold last month. Mosely says, “He’s a very stylish buck, very well put together. Nice and free in his movement, not too big, but he’s got that early growth, muscle, and fat cover.” He already held the record for the most expensive goat in Australia when he paid $9,000 for another buck at the same sales last year.
The previous record for the most costly goat sold in the country is $12,000
“Wild harvest goat numbers are under pressure. They’re not going to come back. People harvested heavily over the past five years so, to meet the orders for goat meat, we need to run them in semi-managed or fully managed properties,” adds Mosely. “He’s bred in the western-type country, which is important.”
What drew me to Marrakesh was that he appeared to be in excellent shape. Large enough to demonstrate his outstanding breeding and potential to produce other quality goats. But not overfed to the point where he couldn’t deal with the occasionally severe conditions in western NSW. He will not have a bucket of feed at his feet, Mosely stated. Mosely’s wife, Megan, posted on the Facebook page for their property Etiwanda. It is about 80km south of Cobar. Mostly used to farm sheep and cattle that goats had “been tremendously good to us over the years.”
