By Hafsa Khalil
Goats outnumber people six to one on the Italian island of Alicudi, a census has estimated. File image. Photo: 123RF
The local mayor of a remote Italian island overrun with wild goats is offering to give them away.
The idea came to Riccardo Gullo after a census estimated their population to be six times the human population of 100.
Experts at navigating the steep landscape of Alicudi, in the Aeolian archipelago north of Sicily, the goats have become a problem as they damage gardens and allotments.
Applications to "adopt a goat" must be received by 10 April.
Wild goats have lived in Alicudi for years, and previously spent most of their time on the volcanic island's rugged mountains and cliffs.
But as their population has grown, they have started to venture down into residential areas where, as well as ruining gardens, they have reportedly also knocked down parts of walls, and even entered people's homes.
Known as browsers - animals that eat away at leaves and fruits growing at head-height - goats are prone to destroying vegetation if left unattended.
Gullo said that people have already been inquiring about taking the goats.
"[There is] a farmer on Vulcano island who would like to take several goats as, among other things, he produces a ricotta cheese which is much appreciated," he told The Guardian.
Vulcano - along with Alicudi - is one of the seven islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago. The group of islands is a Unesco world heritage site.
- This story was first published by BBC
