'How can you not love goats?': The unsung heroes of summer in Lethbridge are back
The City of Lethbridge is once again calling on a herd of goats to help clean up Alexander Wilderness Park and Indian Battle Park this summer.
Aside from looking cute and cuddly, the goats, owned by the Creekside Goat Company, actually serve a huge importance.
They love the taste of weeds and are helping to rid Lethbridge of invasive species such as leafy spurge, wormwood, thistle, crested wheat grass and brome grasses.
"When we're done, the park looks pristine and nice and the weeds are gone, but you can't tell the impact that they've been there," said Creekside Goat Company owner Robert Finck.
"Being that it's all natural, we don't have to spray any herbicides and you're still able to have a safe environment so people love it."
Lethbridge weed goats, June 11, 2021
The clean up crew is made up of over 200 goats who, with the guidance of herd dogs, will be working away in the city's parks until August.
While these dogs are generally friendly, the city is advising residents not to pet the dogs while they’re working and to keep their own dogs out of the area.
A similar grazing program has been successful in Calgary where herds have been able to control invasive weeds and manage and manage vegetation.
It's an industry that seems to be trending upwards with demand growing each year.
"We're in most of the major cities in Alberta but when you come to other parks and private ranch lands, there's a lot of room to manage weeds," said Finck
Elsewhere, baby goats are serving a much different purpose.
The petting zoo at the Lethbridge Corn Maze is back in business and after a successful first year last summer, so is the goat snuggling venture.
"People came out last year and they loved it. But, we had more demand than we had goat supply, and the goat got too big towards the end so we had to quit," said Lethbridge Corn Maze owner Theo Slingerland.
Lethbridge goats, June 11, 2021
"This year, we started a bit earlier and we also started breeding our herd a little bit different. So, we spread out our breeding program so we'll have little baby goats for the next couple of months."
Hour-long snuggling session with baby goats can be booked online for $30 and a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Lethbridge foodbank.
More than $1,100 was donated last year and it looks as though this year will easily surpass that total.
"How can you not love goats? You really can't complain with cuddling some goats, man. Especially these little baby guys," said one customer.
Goats are known to be very social animals that love to interact and play with people.
But be warned, they also tend to enjoy a good nibble on shirts and hair.
With files from Quinn Keenan
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.