WILD goat numbers have been on the rise in western New South Wales but the State Government has insisted the rise is "modest" and "not unusual".

In the year to July 2024, the population of unmanaged rangeland goats in the region rose 17 per cent to 5.89 million.

The region takes in everything west of a border than runs from near Tooleybuc on the Murray River, north-east to the Queensland border ...