With fire season under way in California, people in a San Diego neighborhood that was damaged by a fire in 2003 have hired 350 goats to eat their way through plants near their homes. The plants can be dangerous because they can catch fire easily.
Other cities in California have used goats to get rid of brush for years. The animals also have been put to work in Utah and Arizona, where fire officials credited them with helping control fires that scarred the state in June.
Goats relish their jobs; they need no encouragement to eat their way through tasty brush. All they need is water, supervision and fences to keep them under control.
PHOTO: AP
Neighbors raised about US$13,000 (NT$427,209) to hire a local company to keep the goats grazing on land behind their homes for about two weeks. They also had a party with balloons, muffins and handmade signs to welcome the goats' arrival. The cost of hiring the gaots is about one-fifth that of a human crew.
Herders and dogs guided the goats onto a hillside covered with brush, where the goats quickly began enjoying their breakfast. The goats are locals, hired from a ranch just southeast of San Diego. Ranch manager Johnny Gonzales said his herd is getting more fire prevention work than ever before.
"All they want to do is eat, so it works out to everyone's advantage," said Gonzales. (AP)
隨著加洲野火季節到來，二○○三年遭大火重創的聖地牙哥居民已雇用三百五十頭山羊，將住宅附近的植物吃個精光，因植物易燃且具危險性。
山羊在加州其他城市除草已行之有年，牠們也在猶他州及亞利桑納州替消防隊效力。這兩州在六月遭大火肆虐而滿目瘡痍，消防官員將協助控制火勢的功勞歸功於山羊們。
山羊熱愛牠們的工作，不需他人鼓勵就能一口氣吃完美味的草叢，只要給牠們水，有人看管，再以籬笆控制住即可。
鄰居們籌措了約一萬三千美元（新台幣四十二萬七千兩百零九元）雇用當地公司，將山羊放牧在家園後方的草皮上兩周，他們還準備了氣球、鬆餅和手繪標誌舉辦派對，歡迎山羊的到來。雇用牠們的費用約是雇用人工的五分之一。
牧羊人和狗將山羊引領到覆滿青草的山坡，山羊很快地開始享用牠們的早餐。這些當地的山羊是向聖地牙哥東南邊的牧場雇來的。牧場經理強尼．康佐拉斯表示，他的羊群從沒接過這麼多的防火工作。
康佐拉說：「牠們的唯一任務就是吃，這麼做對大家都有好處。」
（美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
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