Angora goats at Royal Welsh Spring Festival
Angora goats, admired for their luxurious mohair fleeces, will be among the breeds on show at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society’s Spring Festival. Sweet natured and beautiful, Angoras were first imported into Britain in 1981 and this year for the first time UK mohair producers have opened up an export trade to South Africa. The product is much in demand in South Africa and also in Texas, USA, where Angora herds are numerous. The product is expensive and is used in high quality suiting and also in aircraft seats because of its fire-resistant properties.
The first Angora goats to reach this country sold at very high prices but as these fell to more realistic and affordable levels the animals became popular with smallholders. The goats are shorn twice a year and a yearling doe produces between four and six kilograms over two clips. However, there are only three or four large herds – those with 50 to 100 Angoras – in Wales and about half a dozen smaller ones with a herd size of about 10 animals, said Graham Sexton of Moylegrove, Pembrokeshire, who is chairman of the British Angora Goat Society.
“Typically, mohair prices average around £5 a kilo so keeping Angoras on a small scale for mohair is not really a commercial proposition. It is possible though to be profitable by adding value,” he said. “We have a small cottage industry for such handmade products as gloves, scarves, hats, socks and other clothing and, of course, the meat of the animal is also sold.”
There will be a fleece competition at this year’s Festival and also mohair fleeces and products including a wide variety of hand and machine produced, knitted, woven and crocheted articles to wear and for the home will be displayed. The British Angora Society Craft Competition will also take place at the Festival and will be judged by Mrs Lindsey Kay, a member of the Pembrokeshire Spinners and Weavers Group, a previous exhibitor and experienced weaver.
Angora goats are native to the Ankaran Province in Turkey where they have always been greatly prized and jealously guarded. Export of these animals from Turkey was at one time forbidden under punishment of death and it was not until the 19th century that the goats eventually found their way down through Africa to the Cape and from there to the wider world.
Visitors to the Festival which takes place on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, on May 21 and 22, can view this fascinating breed in the Goat Building and exhibitors will be present during both days of the Festival to answer questions.
If you wish to enter Angora goats, fleece or produce items for the craft section, please find further details on the Festival website www.rwas.co.uk. A warm welcome awaits any new exhibitors.