Other Livestock Species

Background: the species and breeds covered by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia

The Watchlists of the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia cover the traditional domesticated livestock and poultry species associated with the early settler colonisation of Australia of the 18th and 19th centuries. Those species are Cattle, Donkeys, Goats, Horses, Pigs, Poultry and Sheep. The breeds of interest to the Trust within these species groups are those pure breeds that are standardised in herd books or published standards either in Australia or overseas.

In addition to continuing to import standardised breeds, Australia has also developed its own breeds within those traditional species groups. Such breeds include Waler horses, Australian Heritage Angora Goats, the Australorp chicken, Belmont Red Cattle, and Wiltipol Sheep to name a few. Some breeds have also emerged in isolation on islands off Australia and are now accepted as breeds in their own right - namely the Colonial Percy Island Goat, the North West Island Feral Fowl, and the King Island Turkey.

Note. A breed is a standardised “genetically defined” animal that breeds with other true representations of a breed. “A breed is a true genetic breed when mated together. In other words it breeds true to type.”

You can find the species and breeds covered by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia on our Watchlist pages at:

Other livestock species

The livestock landscape of Australia is however a complex one extending beyond the traditional domesticated livestock species that make up the work of the Trust. Since the time of early settler colonisation and into the 20th century other species have been introduced. Some species represent innovations in livestock for meat and fibre in the instances of Alpaca and Llama. Or in the case of camels are part of Australia's settler exploration history. Some Australian native species such as Emu and Crocodile have also been farmed for eggs, meat and leather. There are also species such as rabbits and deer brought to Australia in the early period of settler colonisaton for sport and that, outside of some specialised farming ventures, have become feral. Additionally, some traditional domesticated species such as pigs, donkeys, horses and goats have escaped farming ventures and become feral themselves.

These other livestock species and feral groups do not come within the work of the Trust. The following list however gives a brief description of these species, as well as the feral situation, for general information.

Feral definition - to have escaped from domestication and living wild.

ALPACA

Farmed / Common

Australia first imported Alpaca in 1988. It is now second largest alpaca industry in the world with over 180,000 animals as at 2024, with the Peruvian alpaca industry retaining its status as the largest. Alpaca are used for fibre and meat, as well as livestock guardian animals. Alpacas are members of the family that includes the guanaco, llama, and vicuna. Collectively they are known as South American Camelids. Alpacas are thought to be a variation from original vicunas that lived more than 7,000 years ago. Contact the Australian Alpaca Association for more information.

Image credit: A picture of alpacas in Ecuador. Photographer Philippe Lavoie. Released as public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alpacas.JPG#file

CAMEL

Farmed / Feral | Common

Camels are survivors of an almost extinct group of ungulates that once inhabited all the large land masses of earth except Australia. The only camels in existence today are two domesticated species; the Arabian Camel (Camelus Dromedarius) better known as the Dromedary and the Bactrian Camel (Camelus Bactrianus) also known as the Mecheri.

The very first camel to arrive in Australia was in 1840 as the sole survivor of six beasts camels exported from the Canary Islands. Twenty-five camels landed in Melbourne in 1860 to carry supplies for the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition. Many more followed, along with their Muslim cameleers, known as Afghans. Camels played a vital role in carrying provisions to outback settlements until the early 1900s. Find out more about the history of the camel in Australia here.

Australia now has the largest population of wild camels, with an estimated population of 3,000,000, in the world today. Camels can be found in over 37% of mainland Australia and in the Northern Territory camels are found in over 40% of the land area. The National Camel Control Plan can be found at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/feral-camel-action-plan.pdf

Farmed camels are used for milk and meat, with tourism also a use for camels. Find out more at https://agrifutures.com.au/wp-content/uploads/publications/99-118.pdf

Image credit: Camel Profile, near Silverton, NSW. Photographer Jjron. Licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

CROCODILE

Native / Farmed / Common

The Australian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) industry, has 21 operators in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. The industry produces crocodile skins that cater to the luxury fashion market, as well as meat and other by-products. Although comprehensive data on the market value is scarce, the industry’s value-added contribution in the NT alone amounted to $54.3 million in 2014-15. Saltwater crocodiles are a protected species and the industry operates under the scrutiny of governments, international conventions, animal advocates and customers, ensuring the preservation of this species while contributing to the economy. Find out more at https://agrifutures.com.au/rural-industries/saltwater-crocodile/

Image credit: Saltwater crocodile on a river bank in Australia. Photographer Paul Thomsen - Wildfoto.com.au. This work has been released into the public domain by its author Djambalawa. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saltwater_Crocodile_on_a_river_bank._in_Australia.jpg

DEER

Farmed / Feral / Common

Deer were introduced to Australia during the 19th century by European settlers for sport. Acclimatisation societies imported various species from Europe and Asia, intending to establish familiar game animals for hunting and aesthetic purposes. Animals were released into suitable habitats across several colonies, particularly in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. With few natural predators and favourable environmental conditions, many populations established and gradually expanded.

Over time, deer spread beyond their original release sites. Improved pasture, water availability, forestry plantations, and agricultural landscapes have Red-deer-Susanne-Primdahl-Creative.-Commons-Creative-Commons-Attribution-4.0-creativecommons.org-licenses-4.0 created ideal conditions for population growth. Today, deer are considered one of Australia’s fastest-growing vertebrate pest problems. Estimated numbers in 2002 were over 170,000 but is now estimated at over 1,000,000. Find out more about the Feral Deer Action Plan at https://feraldeerplan.org.au/the-challenge/ and further information at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/fs-feral-deer.pdf

In relation to farmed deer in Australia there are five breeds used for meat and other production:

Red deer - used for meat and velvet antler production
Fallow deer - used for meat
Canadian elk - used for venison and velvet antler production
Sika - used for meat and velvet antler production
Rusa - for meat

Velvet is a food product and also has medicinal uses. Find out more about deer farming at https://www.deerfarming.com.au/

Other deer breeds in Australia, and considered feral, are:

Hog deer
Sambar deer
Chital deer

Image credit: Cervus elaphus (Red deer. group) Susanne Primdahl. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license

EMU

Native / Farmed / Common

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is highly mobile and is distributed throughout Australia. It occurs in greatest abundance in sheep pastoral regions. It is a very large bird, equalled only by the cassowary, growing up to 2m in height and 50 kg in weight. The first attempts to farm emus began in Western Australia in the early 1970s. However, it was not until 1987 that emu farming, based on captive breeding, was found to be a commercially viable industry. Farmed emu are used for meat, leather and oil. An overview of emu farming and its aspects pre 1999 can be found here.

Find out more about the Emu in the wild at https://www.wildernessaustralia.org.au/spotlight_on_the_emu

Image credit: Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), Tidbinbilla, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Photographer JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

FERAL LIVESTOCK SPECIES (DONKEYS, GOATS, HORSES, PIGS)

Feral / Common

Feral species are non-native species that have escaped captivity and established themselves as living freely in a range of environments, including mating freely with feral animals of differing breeds within the same species. The Australian Government has information sheets on feral species other than those already listed on this page as feral.

Feral goats - https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/feral-goat.pdf
Feral horses and donkeys - https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/feral-horse.pdf
Feral pigs - https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/feral-animals-australia/feral-pigs
Feral rabbits - https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/rabbit.pdf

LLAMA

Farmed / Zoos / Numbers not known

Llamas have been used as meat, fibre and packing animals for over 6,000 years. Llamas are closely related to Alpacas. They are both from a group of four species known as South American Camelids. The llama is approximately twice the size of an Alpaca with banana shaped ears and is principally used as a pack animal. They also serve as livestock guardian animals. Their lanolin free fibre is popular with spinners and weavers. The Australasian Llama Registry sets out Llama fibre types at https://llama.asn.au/registry.html

Image credit: Llama and baby. Photographer Rexness. Wikimedia Commons. Licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

OSTRICH

Feral (Uncommon) / Zoos

The Ostrich was introduced into South Australia in the 1890s, and then again in the 1970s, when attempts were made to farm them for feathers and meat. This proved unsuccessful and the remaining birds were released into the wild. Their low fertility in the wild has kept numbers low. More at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-02/elusive-ostriches-roam-outback-after-farming-attempts-go-bust/10190990

Image credit: African Ostrich as seen in the Addo Elephant National Park, South Afrika
in January 2022. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African-Ostrich_(Addo-Elephant-Park)_JF_5091.jpg
Released under This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

WATER BUFFALO

Feral / Common

Water buffalo were imported to Australia in the 19th century to supply meat to remote northern settlements. The settlements and their buffalo were abandoned in 1949 and, despite harvesting for meat, hides and as hunters' trophies, feral buffalo spread across the northern floodplains. The Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign reduced feral buffalo numbers significantly in the 1980s and 1990s but numbers are again very high right across northern Australia causing significant damage to wetlands. Read more at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/buffalo.pdf

Image credit: Two water buffalo bathing in a pool, raising their muzzles high and staring at the viewer. Photographer Basile Morin. This imnage is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

WILD BRUMBIES

Feral / Common

Some free roaming horse groups living wild in Australia are given the collective name Brumbies. These free roaming horses have a history in Australia associated with the alpine areas of NSW and Victoria in particular. There are however other wild horse groups given the name brumbies in Barrington Tops National Park in NSW, Carnarvon National Park in Queensland, and in Western Australia in which state they are also called Pangaré .

The poem The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Patterson and Elyne Mitchell's The Silver Brumby series of novels have given a place to the brumby in Australian colonial culture.

There are many different types of brumbies, descended from different breed sources. It is believed that the first brumbies belonged to James Brumby a soldier and settler who received his first land grant in 1794. His horses were left to roam freely in the bush around his property in New South Wales after he left for Tasmania in 1804. Others believe the word has an older origin and is derived from the Irish word bromaigh (meaning ‘young horses’ and pronounced "brummy".

Many breeds have contributed to the wild group of horse bands or mobs that are assigned the group name brumby. Some of these breeds include the Thoroughbred, the Arabian of the 1800's and early 1900's, Cleveland Bay, Shire, Suffolk Punch, Percheron, Clydesdale, Timor Pony and Welsh among others. The brumby although sometimes referred to as a breed carries the genetics of a wide range of horse breeds, and has not been classified as a breed in itself to date. Rather it refers to wild horses from different genetic lines that have interbred in specific locations.

For more information on numbers and locations see https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/FeralHorses47/Report/Chapter_2_-_Overview_of_feral_horse_populations

For more information on Brumbies see https://grokipedia.com/page/Brumby

Image credit: Wild Brumbies Australia. Photographer Claire Charters. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.