The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered a comprehensive review of a government-run goat breeding program after state auditors flagged widespread animal deaths linked to inadequate care and chronic underfunding.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the review will determine whether the goat upgrading initiative–launched under the previous administration and based at the Pangasinan Research and Experiment Center in Sual, Pangasinan—should be continued, scaled down, or ended altogether. The assessment will examine both the program’s technical viability and the resources required to sustain it.

The move follows findings by the Commission on Audit (COA), which reported that 52 of the 101 Anglo Nubian and Saanen goats purchased for the project had died. COA attributed the deaths primarily to inadequate feeding and nutrition, citing gaps in funding for animal care and maintenance.

Necropsy reports confirmed that the goats died from various illnesses and diseases, while affidavits from the project’s designated accountable officer (AO) and farm staff stated that the animals showed signs of malnutrition and weakened immune systems, leaving them “unable to withstand environmental stress and natural calamities.”

State auditors noted that the goats died while under the custody of the AO, who later filed 41 requests for relief from accountability. However, COA stressed that primary responsibility rests with DA management, particularly in ensuring that essential inputs—most critically, animal feed—are properly planned for, funded, and delivered.

According to the audit, funding problems began as early as 2023, when no allocations were made under maintenance and other operating expenses for animal feed. As a result, the PREC chief and the AO were forced to rely on surplus or excess feed from the National Livestock Program (NLP), supplemented with grasses, foliage, and legumes. While additional manpower was deployed to care for the animals, COA found these measures insufficient to meet the goats’ nutritional requirements.

COA further revealed that feed sourced from the NLP was delivered intermittently during the first semester of 2024, largely due to procurement delays at the DA’s Ilocos Region office. The feed reportedly arrived only around June 2024, with no additional feed allocations provided during the second half of the year. Temporary reliance on forage and legumes failed to sustain the animals adequately.

The audit also pointed out that the goat breeding initiative was implemented as a locally funded project (LFP) and was not included in the DA’s regular programs, activities, and projects (PAPs). Although the DA attempted to secure funding under the 2023 and 2024 National Expenditure Programs, these proposals were not approved in the General Appropriations Acts for those years.

Citing Presidential Decree No. 1445, or the Government Auditing Code, COA emphasized that the head of a government agency is immediately and primarily responsible for all government funds and property, including animals under its care. The failure of the DA to exercise this responsibility, auditors said, “reflects a lapse in planning and oversight.”

In its 2024 annual audit report on the Department of Agriculture, COA acknowledged the DA’s explanation that funding gaps were being addressed. According to the audit, allocations for goat feed were included in the 2025 budget under the National Livestock Program, and sufficient feed inventory is now reportedly available at the station. Additional funds for animal care and maintenance have also been identified and incorporated into the DA’s proposed 2026 budget.

Despite these corrective measures, DA records show that no adequate long-term funding was set aside during the previous administration to expand or sustain the breeding initiative beyond its pilot phase. Under then Agriculture Secretary William Dar, the program moved forward without the multi-year budget support needed to ensure proper nutrition, staffing, housing, and veterinary oversight—elements critical to the survival and productivity of breeder animals.

Tiu Laurel said the review will guide the department’s next steps, including whether the project should be revived with sufficient funding, restructured at a smaller scale, or discontinued.

While the review is ongoing, the DA plans to distribute the remaining Anglo Nubian and Saanen goats to farmers in typhoon-affected Catanduanes, where livestock losses have compounded the impact of recent storms. The redistribution aims to support recovery efforts in agricultural communities while ensuring the animals are placed in environments where they can be actively cared for and integrated into existing farming systems.

The DA has also announced plans to temporarily repurpose the 140-hectare Pangasinan facility into a high-value crops production site and innovation hub as decisions on the breeding program are finalized.

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PAWSTURE EXPLAINER
Why Underfunded Breeding Programs Put Animals at Risk

Animal breeding programs are often framed as productivity and food-security initiatives, but at their core, they are long-term animal welfare commitments. Breeder animals require consistent nutrition, proper housing, trained caretakers, and regular veterinary monitoring. These needs are non-negotiable and extend over years, not budget cycles.

When funding is intermittent or insufficient, the first casualties are often feed quality, staffing levels, and preventive care. Nutritional deficits weaken immune systems, making animals more vulnerable to disease, while understaffed facilities struggle to provide timely monitoring and intervention. In breeding operations, these failures can quickly cascade into high mortality rates and compromised genetic outcomes.

Unlike short-term infrastructure projects, breeding programs cannot be paused without consequences. Animals continue to age, reproduce, and require daily care regardless of fiscal constraints. Without guaranteed, multi-year funding, such initiatives risk raising ethical concerns alongside operational ones.

The lesson here is clear: no breeding program should proceed without secured funding that covers the full cost of animal care for the program’s entire duration. Anything less places animals in a precarious position, where ambition outpaces accountability.