The Island That Gives Free Goat

The mayor of a remote island in Italy is offering to give away up to 50 goats to anyone who can catch them, because the island has so many goats.

Riccardo Gullo, mayor of Alicudi Island in Italy's Sicily region, came up with the idea because the ratio of people to goats on the island was seriously imbalanced. The island had only 100 people, but six times as many goats. He declared that anyone who caught the goats could take them off the island if they had a boat.

“The goats invaded residential areas, entered people’s houses, and chewed on anything they could find in parks, gardens, and fences,” he said on April 4. “We launched a goat adoption program because we didn’t want to destroy these animals.”

Goats on Alicudi Island.

According to the Sicilian regional government, the first goats were brought to the island by a farmer about 20 years ago. They were then set free, becoming ownerless animals that grazed on the cliffs and multiplied at a dizzying rate.

Gullo said each participant can adopt up to 50 goats, with the deadline for applications being April 10 and can be extended until the goats find a home. Adopters must email their application to the government and pay a $17 postage fee to have their application approved.

“We have had dozens of requests, including a farmer on the island of Vulcano who makes goat cheese,” he said. “The best thing would be to find someone who wants to tame them, rather than eat them.”

Once the application is approved, the adopter has 15 days to capture and remove the goats from the island. The island government will retain some of the goats for tourism purposes.

Alicudi is the least inhabited of the seven Aeoli islands off the northern coast of Italy. It is a popular sailing and volcano-watching spot, where you can watch the constant eruptions from neighboring Stromboli.

(According to VnExpress, April 6)

Source: https://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/109259/Hon-dao-tang-de-mien-phi