Lost Goats in Idaho

[packgoatlarry]

Two goats have recently turned up in the Seven Devils Wilderness sans an owner. Then ended up in the hands of the area wildlife biologist, and are currently in the care of their previous owner. As you know if you have been following goat issues for any time at all, lost goats are our 'worst of the worst' scenario. Especially when the owner who lost them does not step up and notify the relevant land managers that he is missing some of his animals.

IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO HAS LOST THESE ANIMALS, please contact either Larry Robinson <lrobinson12441@gmail.com>, or Charlie Jennings <vigilguy@gmail.com> and help us bring some resolution to this issue.

We cannot be perceived as responsible animal handlers, when we lose our animals and just say, "Oh well, easy come, easy go."

Larry

[Sanhestar]

if there's a previous owner in the picture - doesn't he know who he sold the goats to?

[Nanno]

With as much time, money, and effort as goes into raising, buying, and maintaining packgoats, I really doubt the owner said, "Easy come, easy go." However, as far as I am aware, protocols for what to do if you lose a goat have not been established by NAPgA and I see this as an omission on our part. Do people know that they are responsible to contact local sheriffs, ranger stations, put out notices, etc.? I'm honestly shocked by how many people I've known who have lost horses but never contacted the authorities. They call a few friends, ride or drive around the area looking, and that's it! It's not like they're trying to hide something--it just never occurred to them to call the sheriff, brand inspector, or district ranger. I think this is an opportunity for NAPgA to outline exactly what steps a person should take in this situation--I'll make sure it's on the agenda for our next meeting!

I also agree with Sabine--if a previous owner has the goats, it should be fairly easy to follow the chain and find the person who lost them.

[Saph]

I would like to hear "the rest of the story."

Do we know for a fact that these were "pack goats?" For all we know, these could have been brush goats/weed eaters that someone dumped off, to let nature take its course, or that wandered away on their own from their ranch/herd. I am quite familiar with the area surrounding 7 Devils. It is very rural & agricultural, with many big farms and ranches to the north, south, and east. There are even several inholdings in Hells Canyon itself, bordering the Wilderness, along the Snake River. Any of these places could have goats as part of their livestock, not as pack animals.

Larry, please fill us in, including how the Wildlife Biologist was able to locate the "previous owner." How was contact made? Do they live nearby? This certainly begs a lot of questions.

[packgoatlarry]

In reality, there isn't too much to tell. These animals turned up somewhere in the Seven Devils Mountains, maybe at the trailhead, the F&G folks pulled them out, they apparently had some ID on them which led them back to the original owner, who had sold them to another individual. The F&G point of contact hasn't exactly been forthcoming with information, other than they have been, and are still, according to a recent telecon, with the original owner. The F&G guy hasn't indicated the eventual disposition up to this point. They were, and were sold as, packgoats. Or so says the original owner, who resides in Emmett, Idaho. One can easily assume that the last owner wasn't particularly concerned about them due to his lack of notification of authorities when they were lost, and apparently non-interest in having them back.

I certainly am not aware of all the inholdings in the Hells Canyon corridor, but in my 2015 hike from Pittsburg Landing to Granite Creek, saw no goats, other than my own, that is. 

And in my mind, for some goats to get away from an inholding in the Hells Canyon corridor and find their way over to the east side of the 7 devils, is not an impossibility, but a real stretch indeed.