In Alicudi, the approximately 600 wild goats will be donated for free to those who request them. This was announced by the regional director of agriculture and rural development at the Messina territorial service. The requests, especially from breeders, must be submitted by April 10th. The goats, which live freely in the mountains of the Aeolian island, but often come down to the valley in search of food, damaging gardens and orchards of about a hundred islanders and vacationers who have protested several times, belong to the Sicilian Girgentana, Saanen, and Nana Tibetan breeds. The Region, following complaints from the shepherds, has implemented a monitoring and containment plan. “The regional department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Mediterranean Fisheries,” said Mayor Riccardo Gullo, “has also presented to the Municipality of Lipari the results of the census of wild goats in Alicudi carried out from January to August 2023 by the company Dream Italy of Pratovecchio Stia.” The project involved a cost of 50 thousand euros. The problem, related to the presence of an increasingly large number of these animals, originates from the abandonment, about twenty years ago, of domestic animals in the territory. The goats, living in a rugged area of this small nature reserve, search for food, even venturing into inhabited areas, eating crops, trees, and prickly pear plants. The need to implement management interventions on the wild goat population was also taken up by the UNESCO Management Plan for the Aeolian Islands, expressly stating the need to reduce the impacts that this species has on the characteristic “dry stone walls.” If Alicudi is also dealing with an invasion of wild rabbits, the mountains of Ginostra and Stromboli are facing a massive influx of goats with the resulting problems.
Alicudi, le 600 capre selvatiche saranno donate gratuitamente a chi le richiederà
Sicilian news
Tutte le Notizie in Italiano
SIGDS