The threat of goats to vegetation is not unique to Bhutan. This is also a potential threat in other parts of the globe. For example, goats have been reported to cause damage to vegetation and soil in Hawaii (Sparts and Mueller-Dombois 1973), Australia (Bayne et al. 2003), and New Zealand (Vuren 1992). A large number of plant species are palatable to goats, and they have an ability to browse and graze in inaccessible areas (Henzell 1993; Parkes et al. 1996). Goats also survive under adverse environmental conditions due to their ability to survive on low-nutrient fibrous vegetation (Wilson and Mulham 1980; Doyle et al. 1984). These characteristics make goats a potential threat to vegetation and the environment.
The findings of our study show that goat farmers are fully aware of the Government’s conservation rule and the reason for having it in place. This probably explains why the majority of farmers comply with the rule and rear goats under stall-fed conditions. It may also reflect the farmers’ concern that goats could cause destruction to forested vegetation. Several methods adopted by farmers to manage goat numbers also demonstrate their efforts to comply with the rule. However, the farmers’ strong disagreement on the relevance of the conservation rule currently suggests a series of constraints facing goat rearing. These constraints are probably the main reason for all the surveyed goat farmers to stress the urgent need to revise the rule. Goat farmers in the study area are generally resource-poor, and the stringent conservation rule on only rearing up to four goats per household is a major hurdle to farmers earning higher incomes and generating better employment opportunities.
Since this conservation rule was not based on research (Wangdi et al. 2013), there is no scientific basis and explanation as to why the number of goats permitted per household was fixed to four. According to the conversion factor used for converting animals into livestock units in Bhutan, an adult goat is equated to 0.10 livestock units (LU) (Dorji 1993). In the subtropical region of Bhutan, the livestock carrying capacity is estimated at 5 LU ha−1. Thus, under free grazing, 1-ha land could support about 50 adult goats. According to Tamang et al. (2008), each household rears about five goats in the subtropical region; therefore, 1-ha land is estimated to support the goats belonging to about 10 households. It is important that these estimated figures are taken into account in the revision of the conservation rule in the future, in addition to making the rule simpler to fit into the current farming system.
The findings of the study reveal that the farmers are overall dissatisfied with the conservation rule on goat rearing. The study highlights lack of responsiveness of the policy objectives to the needs of goat farmers; this is attributable to rules being formulated largely from forest managers’ perspectives. The study also indicates that the policy-making process lacked proper consultations with stakeholders and balanced representation by technical experts from required disciplines. Thus, there is a need to take onboard the livestock personnel and technocrats, particularly in the revision and formulation of rules involving livestock.
The low popularity of the conservation rule is due to three major constraints that it causes: restricted opportunities to earn more income, difficulty in managing goat population growth, and conflicts with forest personnel. These constraints have persisted for decades, yet they failed to draw the attention of policy-makers when the conservation rules were revised in 2000, 2003, and 2006. Further, the lack of proper evaluation of the conservation rule and its impracticality for livestock farmers seems to have contributed to the constraints. Therefore, it is not surprising to see farmers expecting changes in the rule as well as suggesting additional rules in favour of goat farming. The rule may have been successful in achieving the conservation objectives but has not benefitted the goat farmers. The rule has not considered the human factor, which is vital to the success of any policy. This is probably the main reason why agriculture policies in Bhutan have often failed to bring about significant growth for the poorest after almost 55 years of planned development (Rural Livelihood Project Phase 2014). Failure to recognize the interest of resource-poor farmers leads to failure in policy (Bird 2008; Rocha MA: Testing the DFID state-building framework: Case study on Angola and Mozambique, unpublished). Our findings suggest that, as long as the conservation objectives and aspirations of goat farmers are not compatible, the conservation rule is likely to come under criticism and generate public debates.
Despite the constraints, the great majority of surveyed farmers were in favour of continuing goat rearing in the future. Their view shows that goats have the potential to provide economic benefits to rural communities. This is because goats promise better income generation. Tamang et al. (2008) found in Bhutan that goats play an important economic role, with great potential to alleviate rural poverty. The other possible explanation is that goats have high prolificacy with average birth frequency of twice per year and average number of two kids per birth, and therefore, goats ensure faster economic returns (ICIMOD 2005; Tamang et al. 2008) and additionally, chevon (goat meat) fetching better price than other meat. Goats are ideally suited for the poorest farmers because of their short gestation period, low-risk capital investment, and low cost of maintenance (Gopala et al. 2010).