Irish goats set out for slopes of Kilimanjaro

ALMOST 200 Irish goats are making the 4,000 mile journey to the slopes of Kilimanjaro today to provide needy Tanzanian farmers with milk, meat and fertiliser for years to come.

For Bothar, the aid agency organising the air shipment, the dispatch of the goats represents a successful change of tack after several African countries rejected Irish cattle exports last year because of the BSE scare.

Days before Bothar was about to airlift a consignment of Irish cattle to Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda last September, the three countries placed a ban on cattle exports from this State.

Although the Egyptian market is being opened up once more to Irish beef, there is no sign yet that other African countries will follow.

The goats, which are unaffected by the BSE scare, have been either donated by Irish farmers or bought by schoolchildren. It costs about £250 to send out each animal. Each goat is donated to an individual family in Tanzania, which is required to pass on the first female offspring to another family in the community.

"This is a very practical way to help people help themselves. We can tell where each of our goats is, and how she is doing. In contrast, donations of money are much harder to track," the chairman of Bothar, former MEP Mr T.J. Ma her told a reception in the RDS in Dublin.

Outside, the purebred goats munched impassively on hay and any stray clothing that came near. A group of Dublin schoolgirls admitted they'd never seen a goat in the flesh before: "They're like gremlins!," one of them screamed.

According to Mr Maher, goats are very hardy and individualistic. African farmers tend to treat them better even than their Irish counterparts. The mortality rate for the Irish exports is under 5 per cent, no more than at home.

"I have to admit I was doubtful at the beginning, but I've been surprised to see them doing so well," he said. Even the milk yields, at about four litres a day, are comparable.