Goats continue to dominate the news....okay, maybe not dominate, but still...
USA: Rent-a-goat
Associated Press reports from Seattle that goats are good for clearing out blackberry bushes, Scotch broom and English ivy.
Seattle City Light, the city parks department and King County Metro have all hired goats. They're faster and cheaper than human crews and more environmentally friendly than herbicides.
Two ranchers in the goat-renting business, Craig Madsen of Edwall in Lincoln County, and Tammy Dunakin of Vashon Island, say they're goats are booked months in advance.
Dunakin says goats suck down blackberry vines like spaghetti. The thorns don't bother them at all.
Madsen charges $450 a day for his herd of 270 goats.
Turkey: Separating the men from the goats
A man has been taken to court after catching two wild goat kids on Mt. Ağrı (Ararat), one of the few natural habitats of the endangered animals, and keeping them in captivity; he faces a fine of up to YTL 15,000.
Receiving information that someone living in the village of Yaygınyurt in the Doğubeyazıt district of Ağrı, had caught two wild goat kids, teams from the Environment and Forestry Directorate took immediate action and carried out an operation to save the kids. During the search conducted in a barn in the village in question, the two kids were found alive, and a lawsuit for likely damages was filed against R.A,, 30, who had caught the kids....
An adult West Caucasian Tur goat stands up to one meter tall at the shoulder and weighs around 65 kilograms. They have large bodies and short legs. They also have a chestnut-colored coat with a yellow underbelly and darker legs. The horns are scimitar-shaped and heavily ridged. In males these horns are around 70 centimeters long while in females they are much smaller.
They live in rough mountainous terrain between 800 and 4,000 meters above sea level, where they eat mainly grasses and leaves and are preyed upon by wolves and lynxes. West Caucasian Turs are nocturnal, eating in the open at night and taking shelter during the day. Females live in herds of around 10, while males are solitary.
Philippines: It's cheese production for the lucky ones
The Philippines is emerging as a market of exciting potential for Australian Boer goats and Thoroughbreds. With economic growth in the Philippines forecast to hit 6pc this year, a push is on to increase the quality and size of the country’s goat meat industry, according to Austrade’s Philippines-based senior trade commissioner, Alan Morrell...Mr Morrell predicts that Philippine demand will outpace supply for at least another three years.
Demand for dairy goats was also rising to supply the Philippines’ sophisticated cheese market...“We think the main opportunity is going to be in the next three to five years in terms of animals to improve goat herds,” Mr Morrell said. "Then we see a secondary opportunity on the genetic side to export frozen semen and embryos. “If we don’t supply it out of Australia they will get it from other countries.”
Behind-the-scenes work with the Philippines’ expanding horse racing industry has also helped Australian Thoroughbreds to gain the inside running over competitors from the US and New Zealand in the market.
If you've come to this post by accident and were, in fact, looking for information on goat racing in Uganda, this is where you need to be.
Romania: The role of goats in national welfare restructuring for the 21st Century
News that Romanian skivers will be paid in goats rather than cash in a bid to get them off benefits by encouraging their entrepreneurial spirit opens up a world of possibilities that new UK prime minister Gordon Brown should not pass up. Families in Romania will receive up to 10 goats which they will be expected to look after, gaining an income from selling their milk and cheese.
Namibia: Relief for goat owners; comeuppance for bad guys
A police investigation into the theft of 149 goats from a farm at Aroab has resulted in the arrest of a Namibian resident in South Africa two weeks ago. Police recovered 77 of the stolen goats. The theft was reported at the farm Skanskolk near the Klein-Menasse Border Post, and the goats were reportedly taken across the South African border.
Credit for the arrest and recovery was given to both the Namibian Police and the South African Police Service.