WHEN goat buyer and seller Brett Peachey contacted the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to order his waybill book, he was in for a surprise.
He was told that the department was no longer issuing the book. Instead, each waybill is to be downloaded from the internet.
"If you're lucky enough to have the internet or a computer, you can do it. But what if you don't have access?" he asked QCL this week.
Mr Peachey, who lives 30 kilometres west of St George, relies on the waybills to legally move his stock and constantly chews through the books.
"No one was notified," said Mr Peachey, who does not own or have access to a computer and was told by a department customer service representative to download a number of waybills.
"It is really going to affect my business," he said.
Not only that, Mr Peachey warned that people who moved their stock without having a waybill now had a legitimate excuse and it would open a can of worms for the stock squad.
"There will be a lot of legitimate people who can't download a form and then we will get the rogues in the industry who will take advantage," he said.
Mr Peachey said the last thing needed was people making decisions like this with no consultation.
"I would hate for this to be the catalyst for someone having a tough time and then being pulled up by the police for not having a waybill.
"This could tip them over the edge," he said.
Queensland Country Life was still waiting for a statement from the department at the time of going to print, but a spokesperson said instructions were on the website for those having problems accessing the internet or without a computer to call customer service to request a hard copy.
