Dutch visit
VISIT OF DUTCH PYGMY GOAT BREEDERS
JUNE
11th/12th 2005
After many months of e-mail contact with firstly Pat
Mercer and then Viv McNeil, arrangements were made for a
group visit by members of the Dutch Pygmy Goat Federation
(NFD) which was organised through the editor of their
magazine Evert Jan Regelink.
The group of 17 arrived via ferry from Harwich on Friday 10th
June and then they made their way to the South of England
Show at Ardingly on the Saturday morning in time to watch
one of our pygmy goat shows in place.
The judge of the day Pam Germany was introduced to
the group, who mainly spoke good English, and she was able
to explain her placings in between each class. I know the group appreciated this very much and were
impressed with her judging.
It was extremely interesting to chat with the group and
compare things such as conformation which is considerably
different to our goats,
as well as management/ husbandry and the way the
animals are judged etc
We learned that one of their bigger shows averages an entry
of around 450 animals while smaller ones might have 100
entries !
My counterpart – Registration Officer – was amongst the
group and he told me that he processes around 2,000 goats
each year.
Another striking difference was how many men are involved in
showing goats – it seems to be a predominantly male
pastime.
Although it is a popular hobby they do not class their goats
as pets, I was told that their surplus kids are sent to
market. There
is very little financial gain – average price being
around £20 for breeding stock (they gasped when I told
them our prices !)
Their movement regulations following F&M are much more
prohibitive than ours.
Their standstill period between shows is 21 days
and before each show they have to have a veterinary check
on their animals, paid for by themselves !
(Be grateful for our regulations)
On the Sunday morning the group went along to
Viv’s home to view her goats and afterwards came down to
visit me and mine. The
group were fascinated by my group of 7 adult male pygmies
living happily together – unheard of in Holland
apparently as they would fight.
After much video filming and photo’ taking we made our way
to a local pub for a lovely lunch and then it was time to
say goodbye to our new friends.
We were invited to visit Holland and hopefully we
can arrange something in the future.
I will keep you posted……..
Hilary Breakell
Our
17 visitors - plus Viv and Hilary.
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