From the Salem, OR Statesman Journal:
Salem gives goats the boot
The city's experiment with getting goats to do its dirty work has failed the smell test, literally.
It seemed like an environmentally good idea at the time: Set 75 rented goats loose on 9.1 acres of city park to chomp and chew invasive plants such as Armenian blackberry and English ivy that were choking native flora out of Minto-Brown Island Park.
So the city, responding to community interest, launched a pilot project last October, contracting with Yoder Goat Rentals out of Molalla to remove the invasive species. But in a report submitted this week to the Salem City Council, the public works department revealed that the six-week project cost the city almost five times what it would normally have spent had it removed the vegetation using more conventional, and less odoriferous, methods.
A bit more:
In addition to being more expensive and a tad pungent, the goats also caused a few problems. While the targeted grazing was successful with the goats removing ivy from the trees and ground and leaves from blackberry canes, they were not selective about what they ate.
The report indicates the goats devoured native plants along with invasive species, and they were drawn to the bark of certain trees including maples and hazelnut trees, which they ate and damaged. Becktel said the native plants were "nibbled to the ground, but are expected to grow back in season."
I had goats for a while too - they would eat the soft tasty stuff and leave the weeds. Found a new home for them about 40 miles South of here. I like the llamas and horse and mule (and landscaping) a lot better.
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