Contraceptive programme hailed as baby goats appear on Great Orme

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

Spring is on the horizon, and the Great Orme is abundant with baby goats, despite a contraceptive programme last summer to manage numbers being deemed a success.

Llandudno’s Goat Management Committee helps conduct a yearly count of the Great Orme Kashmiri Goats.

Then every other year, animals are rounded up and given contraceptives to manage their numbers as part of the Llandudno Feral Goat Management Plan.

Famously, the animals increased in numbers during COVID when they also ventured from the Orme into the town.

Llandudno councillor Louise Emery is the chairwoman of the Great Orme Management Committee and explained.

Cold winters

Cllr Emery said kids are born in January and early February every year, but cold winters can mean later births.

“This time of the year is when we see all the little sweet kids. They are earlier than lambs,” she said.

“Anecdotally, I think there are less baby goats or less kids than there was last year, so I do believe the contraceptive programme is working, but we won’t really know until we do the goat count in the summer, and that information will then feed through to the country warden and influence decisions we make the following year.

“Last year the whole of the Gogarth Abbey/Pen Morfa Hotel was like a nursery. We do allow some breeding to make sure the line continues, and that is very carefully managed.

“When they are new born  – and I have seen some new borns – you just want to pick them up like a cuddly toy, but obviously you can’t and should not do that, and the mothers are very protective!”

Count

A count in 2023 revealed there were around 150 goats after 15 were moved from where they settled in Craig y Don to a country park in Bournemouth.

But according to some estimates, the animals’ numbers could be now as high as 180, although an exact number won’t be determined until the summer count.

Cllr Emery explained it was important the goat population was carefully managed, both to protect their health and the wellbeing of local gardens!

“I don’t think we are going to do the contraceptive programme this summer. We tend to do it every other year,” she said.

“It is quite a task. You have to round up the female goats, and they are corralled into a temporary fencing area on a quiet part of the Orme, and then we have to get the vets there and get permission (to use the contraceptive), and then they have to be injected. So it does take quite a lot of time and effort, and then it is monitored over the next couple of years.

“During the COVID years, we weren’t doing any management, and there was way over 200, and you did feel there was too many, and if you have too many, it is not fair on them because the Orme is a small place.”

Northern India

Originating from the mountains of northern India, the goats have roamed the Great Orme in a wild state for over 100 years and were originally a gift to Lord Mostyn from Queen Victoria.

But the goats have reverted to a wild state and are therefore now regarded as wild animals.

“They do need to be carefully managed because we brought them here,” said Cllr Emery.

“They are not a native species, so we need to manage their numbers; otherwise, there will simply not be enough food for them. They can easily starve if there are too many.”

She added: “They became a symbol of COVID. They had worldwide recognition during the pandemic. They have become synonymous with the town. The people on the Orme, we hate them when they are in our gardens, but we love them really!”

No one person or organisation is legally responsible for the goat population, and landowners are responsible for protecting their property from the animals.

The Llandudno’s Goat Management Committee, though, is made up of representatives from Conwy County Council, Llandudno Town Council, Mostyn Estates, and other stakeholders to help manage the population.