Wild goats in danger, I kid you not

A LONG-HORNED king of the hills, which must have been bemused by the curiosity of thousands of humans over the weekend, will today be returned to his fastness in the Kerry mountains.

In keeping with time-honoured tradition, the wild, male goat was given the title King Puck and ‘presided’ over all the antics, drinking, trading and general bonhomie at the ancient fair of the same name, which ended in Killorglin last night.

But is the eight-year-old specimen a member of a vanishing species? Farmer Frank Joy, who for over 20 years has captured a goat for Puck Fair, believes wild goats are endangered. He has been finding it more difficult to find a suitable puck and says goats are disappearing from the mountains. He suspects people may be killing goats for food. Friends at Fair Head, near Ballycastle, Co Antrim, have told Frank of a similar trend in their area.