Ireland's goat talent

County Kerry has a healthy population of feral goats that cause much damage but luckily they’re tremendously tasty,

- Barry Stoffell

Even without a nationwide lockdown thrown into the mix, this is a relatively quiet time of year in the Irish stalking calendar. Seasons for all Irish deer species — except for muntjac, which is rarer than a dry November in Kerry — end on the last day of February and remain closed until September.

There’s often a small amount of Section 42 work (under the Wildlife Act 1976 ) to do into March where deer are still causing damage. Open ground deer counts, where possible, are usually attempted in this month when hinds and calves remain distinct and most stags still have their antlers. But by the middle of April, attention is free to turn to another species entirely; the goat.

Feral goats are not a protected species in Ireland and can be actively managed where they are causing unacceptable amounts of damage at any time of year. Though they are present in most counties, they are particularly successful in high, remote places where they aren’t a bother to — nor bothered by — anyone, provided they have enough shelter.

County Kerry, in particular, has a very healthy population of these hardy ungulates tucked away in the high passes and remote mountainous regions; Killarney National Park has a fast-growing feral goat population.

As a species, the goat has been part of the rural Irish landscape for millennia. Believed to have been brought to Ireland around 4,000 years ago by Neolithic settlers, their numbers were added to by both the Vikings and the Normans.