THE goats of Bournemouth will have some new companions as 14 Kashmiri goats have made the move south from Wales.

Thirty goats are leaving the Great Orme after numbers spiked due to them not receiving their contraceptive jab as a result of the pandemic.

And for 14 of them, Bournemouth is the destination, joining the goats currently grazing on the East Cliff.

Owner of the goats in Bournemouth, Mark, said: “Instead of going out and culling them, they are trying to relocate them to other grazing projects in the UK.

“They kept the number they require on the Orme and have allowed other organisations to take goats away with them.

“We just needed some extra goats to make up some numbers to do grazing where we are.

“I want to do health checks, make sure there are no problems and make sure they have not got any ticks.

“They are happy, they are being fed, they can get used to different people, can be bucket trained so they come to us rather than us climbing down the cliff.”

The new goats are not yet on the cliff, and Mark said they will be relocated their in the next week or so.

“They will get to work and I am sure tourists will love them,” he added. “Come November, December time I will move a few more around.”

Nineteen female goats in the Great Orme given birth control will remain and a count of goat numbers is due to take place later this year during the mating season, but the number remaining in the town is thought to be over 100.

And the 38 currently grazing the Poole Bay Cliffs will be joined by the Welsh herd.

A spokesperson for BCP Council said: “We have recently relocated 14 Kashmiri goats from the Great Orme to the BCP Council area. These additional goats will join the existing herd of 38 that currently graze the Poole Bay Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

“This grazing project forms part of our work to help combat the ecological emergency declared by BCP Council in 2019.

“The conservation grazing project on the cliffs is doing a great job in managing the dominant species such as gorse and holm oak and this is allowing for more biodiversity within the plant species.

“Some of the cliff vegetation is very hard to manage due to the nature of the slopes and goat grazing is a tried and tested management system to protect and improve the special habitats along the cliffs.”