Eastlink delays due to escaped landscaping control goats (truly an all-time headline)
RoadsI would hear the Benny Hill music in my head if I saw that.
Or the Charleston.
This is one of those times where the bodycam footage would be a brilliant laugh to watch.
How close to Goat Simulator was it?
Not the usual headline but goats are brilliant at their job.
During the covid lock downs my wife & l were officially designated 'Goat Drovers' so we could travel across the border up to Bermagui & travel on the local roads .
A mate has a 100 ha farm inland from Bermagui in the hills & all the gullies were choked up with Blackberries & other woody weeds & he had fallen & broken his hip & had to stay in Sydney for the months of rehab due to the lock downs .
He had just brought a flock of 45 goats for weed control & miles of specialized electric fencing to keep them enclosed on to the patch you wanted to control . Once the Goats got use to you & they learned they are getting let loose on some good quality , different varieties of food to munch on , (you rotate the flock,so they actually look forward to the freedom of eating what & when they want ), there was little need to electrify the fencing as they knew they were on a good thing .
This was really hilly ground & goats being curious critters, once they got use to you & recognized you as a protector & provider of tasty treats, they would look out for you & all rush to where you were & risk busting down the temporary fencing . So we found the best way to avoid a break out was to find a spot across a hilly gully & sit down with a cuppa from a thermos & watch them to make sure they were doing OK ,their hi jinks was hysterical & many times they would bust us spying on them from hearing us laughing at them & then they would all stop munching on the weeds & try to spot where we were.
We spent 4 months doing it & it was a great time ,we went from not thinking much of the smelly buggers & being warned not to turn your back on them or risk being butted or kicked by a grumpy one, to having them follow us around like a dog (much to our dogs disgust) .
We ended up being able to walk them in groups across the hills with out the need to transport them in a truck & choosing to not use the Motorbikes or Quad that would make the trekking up & down hills a lot easier, but to simply walk along with them . l must admit l had many a sneaky nap while in a sunny spot on a hillside, drifting off to the sound of being surrounded by a happy herd of goats .
We are now thinking about training & hiring out herds for weed control ourselves after we retire.We have actually spoken to a few mobs who run herds to hire out for weed control & they have all said the same thing ,in urban areas the biggest problem is morons interfering with the fencing & letting the herd escape,which is probably what happened here.
Someone get this man a million dollars of funding and a government contract.
Goats are the best for that kind of thing. They do eat everything. And they're funny buggers. What an awesome story; I hope the goats are doing ok.
Yeh we were very impressed with them,we wish we had set up some time lapse cameras to show how they cleared out large areas choked with weeds & transformed the areas they were let loose in .
They have a great local farming community up there that pitch in & help each other & the goats are now in 2 teams that are shared among the local farms on weed control duty & my mate collects a nominal hire rate.
They now help the local producers with their Organic produce & other farms commitment to cut down on chemical use.
Oh nice! They would do a great job if you had a camera for time lapse. It's good to hear they're shared round, too!
(I remember when there was goaties up in Lilydale for weed control. I meant to come up and give them a pat!)
So you might say that they're the G.O.A.T. at landscaping control?
Kids playing on the road!
And kids consuming weed!
At the turnoff to High Street Road, no less.
One time, when living in Canberra, I was caught in major traffic chaos because a cow decided to sit in the middle of the road - a major thoroughfare into the city. Mind you, this was in the middle of an urban area not out in the sticks.
I have been stuck in traffic moving so 20km/h down Tuggeranong Parkway while a kangaroo decided to go for a hop along the middle lane.
Or chaos at the intersection of Northbourne Ave and Barry Dr cos of kangaroos. Gotta love Canberra.
Even a roo should know to keep left. Bloody animals.
I mean, who is gonna tell it no right?
ha ha I live in the area and have often wondered on my runs and walks with the dog, how much of a nuisance they'd be if they ever got loose. I guess we know now. Landscape control goats lost control :)
Landscaping control goats. TIL
Used along railways too. Good for spots where there is uneven ground or a steep slope where it is hard to get machinery to
It's turning out to be quite a year.
and people say that kids these days don't want to work.
I used to do "headline of the day" emails at one of my workplaces. Back then I even subscribed to the age.
Nothing I found has ever come close to learning about landscaping control goats.
Well done.
OMG that is fucking hilarious 🤣
That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time!
Those goats have been there for at least a couple of weeks. They were running loose next to the MX track. I’m surprised they didn’t go onto any roads sooner.
I've seen these goats. They are employed by the state to eat grass near the eastlink.
GOAT MUTINY! hhhahaha
Is that headline the GOAT?
The fact that these "landscape control goats" have been roaming free for a while adds an extra layer of hilarity to the situation. Only in Melbourne!
I was wondering what I was looking at as I passed by in the morning. So glad to know I didn’t imagine this 😂
Goats on the run
Where do they live?? I must know!
This is the GOAT Reddit post.
Watch out! First the Aussies are well beaten by the emu's. Now the goats are taking their chance!
I WAS THERE! It was a magical experience watching a bunch of cops desperately trying to herd goats off the road through the cars. I was super late to work but it was 100% worth it.