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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Goat browse + landscape management

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  • From: Ute Bohnsack <sustag@eircom.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Goat browse + landscape management
  • Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 12:52:06 +0100

Great, Rick! Exactly the type of example I am looking for. Here in the
Burren the goats have been part of the ecosystem since Neolithic times.
They keep calcaroeus grasslands (of major European conservation
importance) open by controlling hawthorn and hazel scrub. With changed
farming practices the feral goats, which used to be a resource (St.
Patrick's Day and Easter kid roasts, bodhrans, milk, scrub control...)
have become a 'nuisance' as during early lactation they break into
silage fields and knock drystone walls. Some farmers have taken things
into their own hands - they rounded up 1400 (!) of them in the last few
months, shipped them probably to the UK as ethnic food market.

I wouldn't mind if they controlled the goats in a fashion that is based
on proper population research backed up by the Wildlife service, but it
is done in a kneejerk fashion and the Wildlife Service doesn't seem to
give a damn. Next thing, I'm quite sure, is the farmers will cry out to
the Govt. for permission to control hazel scrub using Round Up (more
than half the region is in protected areas where that would normally not
be permitted, especially since it is a karstic area where the stuff
would go straight into the groundwater...). They are getting rid of the
last beast that is eating scrub (Red deer went 150 years ago)!

I am hoping to get funding next year for a study on the possibilities of
using goats as a landscape management tool in the region.

Any leads from anywhere in the world, be it concrete examples, books,
websites, are warmly welcome! (I have a good bit on German examples
already).

Thanks.
Ute


Rick Valley wrote:
>
> I'll see if I can't stumble across something. There should be SOMETHING
> because the Govt. is involved! I know there are contracts and semi trucks
> full of goats traveling about site-to-site, with their goatherds.
>
> -Rick




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