Twenty years ago, a well-meaning person brought some goats to live on the small island of Alicudi, Italy. The goats later escaped and made their homes on the volcanic island, prancing happily through the mountains and reproducing rapidly over the next two decades.
The island is only 5 square kilometers and is home to only 100 people, but after 20 years of goat paradise, has a goat population of 600. That's six goats for every person on the island!
While the goats are a major tourist attraction, their numbers have become overwhelming, with goats venturing into the gardens and homes of disgruntled residents.
To remedy the issue, Alicudi Mayor Riccardo Gullo has proposed a plan to allow literally anyone to adopt a goat (or ten) for free, no questions asked.
Gullo told CNN,
Ideally, we would like to see people try to domesticate the animals rather than eat them.
But admittedly, there's nothing preventing the adopted goats from becoming sausage.
Some residents are skeptical of the plan, saying it's not realistic for people to travel to the island, which is a two-hour boat ride from Sicily, and then catch the goats themselves in the volcanic terrain.
One former councilor on the island told The Guardian that he believes the 600 goat estimate is too low, and says that he has been advocating for a solution to the overpopulation problem for years.
There needs to be a solution as the threat to the island's vegetation is serious. But Alicudi is a very complicated island, first you have to access it and then try to capture all the goats. There should have been an intervention 10 years ago.
The mayor defended the plan, saying that he's already received dozens of calls from interested goat catchers - one a farmer on a neighboring island who produces goat cheese.
(You can make a lot of goat cheese with that many goats.)
The deadline for applying to catch the goats is April 10th, but the mayor hasn't ruled out extending the deadline until the population gets back to a more manageable number, so there's probably still time for you to hop on a boat to Italy and catch yourself a wild mountain goat!
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
