Mountain goats abound in the province, despite the efforts of hunter to decimate them and they have been causing a nuisance... the goats, not the hunters, although...

Goats suffer constant irritation when their horns grow, much like a human baby when its teeth are coming through. As a consequence the goats rub their horns against trees, which might alleviate the itching but it also damages the tree.

Well, Junta de Andalucía was taken to court and lost the case after farmers collectively sued the Regional Ministry of Agriculture for not keeping mountain goats out of their olive plantations.

The result is that the Regional Supreme Court (TSJA) awarded compensation for over 1.4m euros to the affected landowners — toma!

But wait, you say, wild goats have been doing this since goats and men existed! Yes, but these goats come from land that is owned by the Junta. The goat population on it has grown so much that food is getting scarce there so the goats saunter off onto nearby private land.

The olive groves where they have been having a picnic have been severely damaged — the court findings qualifies the damage as “catastrophic.”

The court finding reads: “Due to the pressure upon farmland from mountain goats over the last 20 years, the damage to it [34,623 hectares] is completely irreversible.”

The damage was not only the result of rubbing their horns against tree trunks but also from munching any green shoots within reach and the leaves in general.

(News: Andalucia – Photo: RLP)

Keywords: Mountain Goats, Public Land, Farmland, Olive Groves, Damage, TSJA, Junta Payout

news, andalucia mountain goats, public land, farmland, olive groves, damage, TSJA, junta payout