Lynton goats

							SOME FACTS RE: LATEST PROPOSED GOAT CULL IN LYNTON, DEVON


In recent years there has been an anti-goat movement initiated by a few local
residents, and backed enthusiastically by most of the councillors on the
Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council. (It was a former mayor who set in
motion the major and very badly executed cull some years back after which
Friends of the Goats was formed to try to stop this happening again.)

True the goats have been getting into the cemetery and allotments and
causing damage, but we at FoG feel it is the council’s duty to fence the
animals out rather than shoot them ‘as punishment’ for this!

Always popular with tourists, the goats have had a fair amount of support in
the media and amongst many other locals. Whenever public pressure has
stopped a proposed cull the council has let things calm down and then gone
ahead anyway, shooting the animals early in the morning; in many cases not
even informing all members of the council.

When – as part of an ESA agreement - a fence was erected around the valley
to keep the goats in, they were also fenced OUT of the woods that they used
as a wintering shelter. We complained about this but nothing was done (one
councillor saying goats don’t need shelter). Stressed and confused by the loss
of the lead billies who’d been shot, many of the animals were further
weakened last year by a virus. The extreme winter weather was the final
straw – they were seen trying to cram themselves into the public toilets to get
out of the wind, rain and snow. By spring many of them were in a bad state.

This was reported to the RSPCA as bad management, but it seems they were
unwilling to act, instead passing the matter to Diana Lewis (North Devon
Animal Ambulance) and Market Vets, Barnstaple who I believe agreed to take
on the welfare of the goats.

In the spring the goats were rounded up, some being put down, the rest
treated, all at considerable cost. Since then most of the goats have made an
excellent recovery. Meanwhile a small shelter has been erected to provide
protection for at least some of the animals next winter.

Later this year Diana Lewis and her vets will be putting down 90 plus goats to
bring the number to the figure the council have long wanted i.e. 50 goats
maximum. As recovery has been so good this will mean a large number of
healthy animals being killed for no logical reason. Every excuse given for this
large cull can be argued (by experts) to be wrong.

They say the valley is over grazed: a trip to the valley will show this is
nonsense, and even in the winter there is plenty of food. But if weather was
especially extreme, it would surely cost far less to provide supplementary
feeding than to cull them.
They say they are sick because the fence has resulted in in-breeding. Even
before the fence the herd in-bred as there are no other feral goats in the area.
Until now the animals have been mostly in excellent health. Besides, how
does making the herd much smaller actually prevent in-breeding?

They say this year’s kids are small. As the large billies have all been killed
and the nannies are now having to mate with younger and smaller males, this
is a logical conclusion. Assuming they are healthy what difference does size
make?

They say there are too many. What does that mean? Too many for what? In
summer many visitors complain about not seeing a single goat.

IN CONCLUSION

Money being used to do a second round-up and then kill goats that have been
treated to make them healthy, is illogical – and a bad use of presumably
limited funds.

Anyone concerned about the plight of these goats could say so to:

Diana Lewis North Devon Animal Ambulance
Market Vets, Barnstaple
Geoff Dwyer, Town Clerk, Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council

For more information on-line check see the website of the Friends of Lynton
Goats at http://www.lyntongoats.org.uk/. The ‘News and History’ section
provides some interesting information about the 2007 cull.

A write up on “This is North Devon” on the cull of some of the goats, and
treatment of others, in May this year can be found at
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/lynton/Goats-rounded-treatment-cull/article-
1103628-detail/article.html