The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is set to carry out a review after it was contacted over 175 times in relation to the goat at Puck Fair.

The three-day annual event in Killorglin, Co. Kerry, dating back over 400 years, sees a wild male mountain-goat crowned ‘King Puck’ and placed on a raised platform in the town.

The goat is ‘dethroned’ on the final day of the festival, which has roots in the Gaelic calendar, and returned to the wild.

Due to the recent heatwave coinciding with this year’s festival, concerns were raised by animal welfare organisations and members of the public about the well-being of the goat in the hot, sunny weather.

The Puck Fair Organising Committee brought the animal down from the platform twice due to the heat, before reinstating him later.

The committee said that the welfare of the goat is their “highest priority”.

It outlined that when the goat was taken down from the platform, it was placed in the shade with a constant supply of cold water and food.

It also received hourly veterinary check-ups which continued to show that the animal had a “good bill of health”.

Up to last Friday evening (August 12), the department of agriculture said that over 175 calls were made to its animal-welfare complaint helpline in relation to the goat at Puck Fair.

In a statement, the department outlined that it will be “taking into consideration the contacts it has received in recent days”.

It added that it will be reviewing the matter in advance of next year’s fair which is due to take place from August 10-12, as usual.