A garda investigation is underway following the suspected theft of triplet newborn pygmy goats from a smallholding in Co. Kilkenny in recent days.
Francis Nesbitt told Agriland that he believes the young animals may have been taken after he posted a picture of them on social media.
The Nesbitt family, who run a holiday cottage business, has a range of animals on their lands.
Francis explained that his 15-year-old son had been given a breeding pair of pygmy goats as an early Christmas present last Autumn.
“This was to be his first on-farm enterprise. He wanted to breed them and grow a little herd.”
On Wednesday (March 23), Francis said that everyone was “delighted” when the nanny goat produced healthy triplets; two females and a male.
Following a break of several months from social media, due to the “negativity” he witnessed online, Nesbitt decided to share an image of the young animals.
“It was my first post on Instagram and Twitter in months. I just thought it might bring a smile to somebody’s face, because they were so cute. There were a lot of people replying that it was nice to see something good on social media for a change.”
Unfortunately, the following night (Friday, March 25) the two-day old pygmy goats were taken from their mother in a well-fenced field, which also contained alpacas.
“They’re so easy to pick up. They spend most of their time sleeping. They’re only a couple of days old and they huddled together.
“My guess is that whoever came into the place to lift them, they might have got a few spits off the alpacas, but it would have taken just minutes to lift them and put them in a bag.”
Nesbitt explained that pygmy goats are valuable as adults, with a female worth over €600 and male around €200.
He said that a lot of people want to keep the goats as pets. However, he urged the public to be aware of unscrupulous breeders offering very young animals for sale online.
“My main worry now is about the mother. Not only is she distressed and bleating to try and call them back constantly, but she’s full of hormones and very heavy in milk.
“There’s nothing drinking that milk so I’m afraid that she’ll get mastitis. She could have problems raising young at any stage in the future then.”
Francis said that his teenage son is “very upset” by the whole incident, which he explained is “his first experience of injustice”.
He suspects that whoever took the animals may have seen his post on social media.
“I feel horribly guilty for having posted the pictures that led to all of this. You just don’t ever imagine that there are people trawling social media looking for photos like this so that they can go in and opportunistically steal young animals.”
“It’s just the cruelty of the theft. If somebody was to steal a chainsaw from you, that’s inconvenient and nasty, but to take three two-day old kids from their mother, it’s just abhorrent.”
Gardaí in Thomastown are investigating the suspected theft and anyone with any information is being asked to call (056) 775 4150.