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Groats goats have a festive feast





WHAT more novel way could you have to get rid of old Christmas trees than to eat them?

Well, those pine needles might not tickle everyone's taste buds, but if you happen to be a goat they'll be a tasty treat – no kidding!

The Puffin Croft goats receive a late Christmas present with a tree feast.
The Puffin Croft goats receive a late Christmas present with a tree feast.

Cara Young, who runs the Puffin Croft animal petting farm at John O'Groats, put a shout-out for post-festive Christmas trees that otherwise would have ended up in landfill – and was delighted with the response.

"I actually sell Christmas trees from late November and I ask people if they can bring them back," Cara said.

The animal-loving owner of Puffin Croft started up over three years ago and the petting farm has gone from strength to strength.

Puffin Croft goats Bo and Willow enjoy a late Christmas dinner. No kidding! Pictures: Cara Young
Puffin Croft goats Bo and Willow enjoy a late Christmas dinner. No kidding! Pictures: Cara Young

"In my first year I had Christmas trees that hadn't sold and did a bit of googling and found that the trees were safe for the goats to eat as long as they hadn't been sprayed.

"They're full of vitamin C and a natural wormer for them too."

Cara says that eating the trees helps break up what would be otherwise a boring and bleak day of wintry weather for the goats.

"We're open all year round but there aren't many visitors in the winter so it gives the goats something to do. There are 10 goats and they go through a tree a day."

The cloven-hoofed characters eat everything except the main trunk and heavier branches. All the scrumptious pine needles, bark and smaller twigs are munched away.

When Cara put a shout-out on her Puffin Croft Facebook page at the weekend for Christmas trees that were "still green" and "hadn't been sprayed", she was inundated with people turning up with their redundant trees.

"I couldn't believe when the original post was seen by over 10,000 people and was shared so many times," she said.

"It went totally crazy and I had to do an update this morning [Monday] telling people we have enough."

A tree is stripped clean of bark and pine needles after the goats have their way.
A tree is stripped clean of bark and pine needles after the goats have their way.

She thanked all those who had delivered trees and said there were enough trees to last the goats until the end of January.

"No more trees, please," Cara laughed.

Puffin Croft is open all year round and more information on opening times can be found on its Facebook page.


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