The goats chowed down on flowerbeds, leaves and grass before being rounded up.
by Ethan Sacks –
Residents of an Idaho neighborhood woke up Friday morning to a sight that really got their goat.
An invading herd of more than 100 goats rampaged through the neighborhood of West Boise, devouring flowerbeds, grass and leaves as they moved from yard to yard on a recent Friday morning, NBC affiliate KTVB reported.
Representatives of the company that owns the animals, We Rent Goats, arrived at the scene and managed to herd the goats onto a truck around 9 a.m., less than two hours after the initial calls were fielded by Animal Control.
As the goats were rounded up by their handlers, a throng of onlookers and reporters — rivaling the goat herd in size — gathered to watch.
“The neighborhood banded together to force them into one lawn while they were waiting for us,” We Rent Goats owner Matt Gabica told NBC News. “Everyone seemed to be enjoying it. There were tons of little kids around there. Mothers brought infants in strollers to see the goats.”
We Rent Goats, according to its website, provides rentals of herds of the animals to landowners in need of mowing large swathes of grass. The animals apparently specialize in chowing down on weeds.
The animals apparently specialize in chowing down on weeds.
“The company has insurance and will be following up with neighbors whose landscaping was damaged. Animal control will also be following up with the company,” Boise city government spokesman Mike Journee said in an email.
The 118 goats that got loose were originally corralled near Ada County Highway District retention pond, broke through several slats of a wooden fence to scour the area for more food, the Idaho Statesman reported.
The breakout wasn’t exactly the stuff of heist movies.
“Apparently, they just leaned on the fence and it broke,” said Gabica.
(To see a video of the “goat invasion” visit: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-100-goats-descended-neighborhood-boise-n897356/)