[Looneytoons]

Hi all.  I'm a newbie, so firstly, hello!

This is a two part question, both of which have contributed to a headache:

My goats are pets.  When goatkeeping was part of my job, I had a licence to transport them up to eight hours, but I've just discovered that it's lapsed.  Having read the information in the website (my headache started with the gov website), I seem to think that I can move the goats myself - whatever the distance - because they are pets, and there are no financial rewards resulting from the journey. Has my brain understood that correctly?

That said, the journey is going to be a long one, and I'm not really happy about tackling it myself.  Can anyone recommend a haulier that would move six goats from North East Lincolnshire to Aberdeenshire? if possible, one that would move the equipment too (shelters, hay racks, hay and straw etc).

TIA

[Anke]

Answer to your first part of the question - yes, you can move them as long as tehy are not part of a business.


2nd part - if you have a livestock trailer or a van, then moving them yourself will be the most cost-effective option, plus you know they are looked after properly. As to moving their shelters? Would it not be more cost-effective to dismantle the shelters, sell and then buy new/build new ones? Even if you can dismantle into sections, you will probably need a flatbed lorry to transport... depends a bit on your licence/age/time available.... with diesel being back up at 1.90 this could be a VERY expensive goat move... and moving hay and straw?


Are you moving house or are the animals going to a new home?

[Looneytoons]

Thanks for the reply.  I think I was leaning towards doing it myself anyway - as you say, I’ll know that I’m looking after them. Slight snag is that I don’t have a trailer, can’t find anywhere that will hire them, and they are flippin’ expensive.  At least I know that I can legally do it myself, so that’s a huge step forward - thank you. 

The shelters are calf huts, and I’m loathe to let them go.  It’ll be cheaper to take the goats up, then come back for the shelters than to replace them.

We are moving to our (hopefully) forever home.  I thought it would be easier to buy a reasonably-priced trailer than it’s proving to be.  I’ll only need it for a couple of weeks, so I’ll be able to recoup some of the costs.