AbstractThe purpose of this study w

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of fresh and cooked meat, and the nutritive value of this meat from 62 male
Australian feral goats. The goats were slaughtered at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 kg liveweights. Half of the goats were castrated and
half were left as intact animals. The quality profiles of meat (e.g. pH, colour, pigment concentrations, cooking loss, shear force value and
eating quality of cooked meat) from both castrated and intact feral goats started to decrease when animals were slaughtered at heavier
liveweights (e.g. above 40 kg). The nutritive value of the meat (chemical compositions, fatty acids and total cholesterol concentrations)
changed when animals were castrated and had heavier slaughter weights. Overall, we recommend that 40 kg liveweight is the heaviest
slaughter weight, since the quality characteristics of meat will be lower when feral goats were slaughtered above 40 kg liveweight.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Feral goat; Castration; Slaughter weight; Meat quality; Nutritive value