Italian Island Overrun by Goats Offers to Give them Away

The number of goats on the five-square kilometer Alicudi is six times the island’s year-round population of 100. Reuters
The number of goats on the five-square kilometer Alicudi is six times the island’s year-round population of 100. Reuters
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Italian Island Overrun by Goats Offers to Give them Away

The number of goats on the five-square kilometer Alicudi is six times the island’s year-round population of 100. Reuters
The number of goats on the five-square kilometer Alicudi is six times the island’s year-round population of 100. Reuters

The mayor of a remote Italian island overrun by wild goats has offered to give the animals away to anyone willing to take one in, Britain’s The Guardian reported.

Riccardo Gullo came up with the idea after a recent census estimated the number of goats on the five-square kilometer Alicudi, the smallest of Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, was six times the island’s year-round population of 100, the newspaper said.

Their number has grown so rapidly in recent years that they started to gravitate from their usual abode at the top of the island towards the inhabited area, damaging lush green vegetation, causing havoc in gardens and allotments, knocking away portions of stone walls and even wandering into people’s homes.

“We absolutely do not want to even consider culling the animals, so we are encouraging the idea of giving them away,” said Gullo. “Anyone can make a request for a goat, it doesn’t have to be a farmer, and there are no restrictions on numbers.”

People have until 10 April to make their request. “We have already had several phone calls, including from a farmer on Vulcano island who would like to take several goats as, among other things, he produces a ricotta cheese which is much appreciated,” added Gullo. “If someone has the capacity to domesticate a goat, it could be a beautiful and more humane way to control the issue.”

Gullo told CNN Thursday that he does not care whether you know anything about raising goats, as long as you have a boat to get them off the island—once you’ve caught them.



Giant Sinkhole Unearths Forgotten Cave Mystery

Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
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Giant Sinkhole Unearths Forgotten Cave Mystery

Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA
Giant sinkhole swallows up part of a road in Surrey - EPA

When a giant sinkhole swallowed up part of a road in Surrey it caused homes to be evacuated and left some residents "terrified".

But the hole in Godstone has also led many to question whether stories of a mysterious labyrinth of disused caves and quarries beneath the surface are to blame, BBC reported.

Peter Burgess, of the Wealden Cave and Mining Society, is an expert on the underground caves and crevices in and around Godstone.

He has been advising Surrey County Council on the risks posed by these long-forgotten caverns.

"The problem with the caves is they were all dug well before the days when such things had to be properly recorded," Burgess said.

"So once they were closed and abandoned, memories went and people forgot where they were – and that's why they cause a problem today.

"Because when they manifest themselves, people know they're around, but they don't know where they're going to pop up next."

"The caves in Godstone were dug for a very high-quality sand, it's called silver sand. It was dug for a variety of purposes – glassmaking, a lot of it went into horticulture and gardening, especially in the Victorian times," he said.

"Most of the underground workings closed by about 1900, and then the industry moved on to open casting, big open pits, which we can still see today."

On if caves could have caused the sinkhole, he said: "It's possible."

"We're not experts in what causes such things. That's down to the geologists and ground engineers.

"We're seen as a source of information on locations and where places might be should there be any other locations at risk. Sadly, in the village here, there's very little on record.

"Most of the sites are either unsurveyed or lost or collapsed or filled in."