Re: Animal advocate goes for the goat (News, June 14)
I have time for goats in the city, having grown up with them. They’d be “heritage” as well, turning the clock of urban areas back a century.
Hopefully Jillian McCue’s knowledge and representations include that fences need to be high, horns should be removed, males don’t give milk and are more smelly, goat’s milk shouldn’t be fed to infants, and manure must be properly composted to kill pathogens before using as fertilizer.
Parents can use the goats to educate children on the effort and commitment to their care come rain, shine or distractions.
Your article infers that only small breeds will be allowed. Of course even regular ones are easier to deal with than cattle, when they go wandering, as some will.
The best place for goats would be hilly acreage with weeds and shrubbery, but beware that nightshade and wilted fruit tree leaves can kill them. They could help eradication efforts of the invasive species nuts. Oh, wait – Saanich Parks exempts tasty blackberry bushes because they provide shelter for small birds and animals.
People unhappy with the favoured diet of urban deer may wish to have sheep instead, as they are more content with grass and less likely to jump the fence to get into the garden.
Keith Sketchley
Saanich