What better way to solve animal overpopulation than having people do it for you? The mayor of an Italian island is attempting to solve an animal overpopulation problem by offering free goats for anyone who can catch them.
Riccardo Gullo, the mayor of Alicudi, introduced an “adopt-a-goat” program after the small island’s wild goat population grew around six times the human population of 100. Gullo said anyone who emails a request to the local government and pays a $17 stamp fee can take as many goats as they want. This agreement only works as long as they transport them off the island within 15 days of approval.
“Anyone can make a request for a goat, it doesn’t have to be a farmer, and there are no restrictions on numbers,” the mayor of Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago said.
Gullo said the agreement is currently available until April 10, 2024, but mentioned that he will extend the deadline until the goat population is back down to a more manageable number. The mayor also mentioned that officials will not investigate the intentions of prospective goat owners but “ideally, we would like to see people try to domesticate the animals rather than eat them.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/04/travel/italian-island-overrun-wild-goats-intl-scli/index.html