By Claudia Gardner, Gleaner WriterLUCEA, Hanover:
RECENT THREATS made by Mayor Lester Crooks of Lucea that he will be capturing all the goats that rummage through garbage in the town centre daily, have caused at least one owner to take steps to shield his animals from the Mayor's wrath and prevent a total loss of earnings.
Donovan Campbell, also called 'Bundick', a 39-year-old farmer of Prosper Road, Lucea, who owned 35 goats, told The Gleaner Tuesday that he had sold his goats 'way below market price' to a number of Lucea butchers rather than lose them to the Hanover Parish Council.
"I had to cut down the herd," he said. "I sold them out for little and nothing."
Mr. Campbell explained that: "My goats started eating the garbage in the town four years ago. I have space to put them, but the goats are under constant threat from dogs in the area who try to kill them or bite them up, so I keep them untied so they can run for their lives." According to Campbell, the goats "realised that there is a lot of food in the town in the mornings, so they have been coming into the town at 5 o'clock in the mornings to eat the discarded vegetables and fruit which are usually piled up in heaps on the ground, in drains and in corners."
He added that "In recent times the garbage truck has been coming in to the town on a regular basis so they started racing to reach before the garbage truck comes into the town."
Mr. Campbell remained ada-mant that his goats were not traffic hazards but were very intelligent animals who paid attention to road safety and walked in an orderly manner to the source of their food and then back home. He said that the herd visited the town in the mornings led by his dog, Brute, who would fight other dogs and chase people who tried to steal his goats.
GOOD SENSE OF TIMING
"As soon as they are finished eating they line up and come back home to Prosper Road where they spend the day sleeping or playing in my yard with my dog," he said.
He said that they had a good sense of timing as they knew the exact days when the animal feed truck visited Lucea to deliver feed at the two feed stores in the town. He said that on such days the goats sat and waited at the front of the stores in order to eat up any of the feed which fell from the bags.
"They knew the whole routine, they are very smart goats," Campbell said adding that "people marvel at how sensible they are."
Although parting with his goats at a loss, Campbell said he understands the Mayor's position. "I like the clean-up that he is doing in the town. I spoke to him and told him I would find a way to control my herd," he said.
The issue of the roaming goats had sparked a heated debate in the last regular monthly meeting of the Hanover Parish Council in which Councillors Sheridan Samuels and Audley Gilpin had berated the Mayor for threatening to plan to capture the animals that were reportedly being a nuisance in the town.
The planned capture of other goats roaming the town which was scheduled for yesterday, has been postponed to next week due to the unavailability of a truck.
