N.M.'s new safety hazard: vagrant goats

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - Horses and cows are sometimes abandoned and left to fend for themselves often because their owners can no longer afford to keep them

Now livestock officials in southeast New Mexico have a new problem on their hands, goats.

Dozens of goats have popped up around the area, enough to create safety hazards in some places. At this point they seem to have come out of the woodwork.

Livestock Board officials say goats of all sizes and shapes have shown up near roadways around Roswell.

"We're more used to seeing horses and cows out on the highway, and this is pretty unusual to see goats out just wandering the roads," Brand Inspector Eric Martinez said.

In the past couple months, the Livestock Board has recovered at least 24 goats in the area, and they've been sporadically showing up in different parts of town.

At one point even the Roswell Corrections Center called the Livestock Board to handle their goat problems. RCC officials said goats were running around the facility everywhere, nearly breaking some of the windows to their office buildings.

"They were being a nuisance by going to the window, seeing their reflection and head-butting the doors, which would cause the glass to break eventually," said Martinez.

Martinez said officials had to corner the wandering goats to capture them. He said some of the goats were on top of a building, even climbing onto vehicles.

Aside from causing destruction, roaming goats are also a road hazard.

"They pose the same hazard as horses and cows," warned Martinez. "They may not be as big and cause as much damage, but they're really as dangerous."

Martinez said an average goat weighs between 100-150 pounds. They can feed off of weeds, and they roam pastures that lately have lead them into harm's way.

One abandoned goat was found after it had been attacked by a dog. Martinez said the female goat had a broken back leg and a large portion of skin that was removed, and without someone to care for the goat, the wound became infected.

He said the wound had been untreated for too long, and the goat had to be euthanized.  

"We don't know if its owners letting them out or if they're just getting through the fences, but they become a safety hazard," explained Martinez.

The Livestock Board's policy is to advertise the abandoned goats for five days, and if no one claims them, they can go up for auction. The goats auctioned off recently have gone for anywhere between $25 to $125 each.