Hunting with goats

[Stringinit]

As the name of the thread implies, you must hunt with your goats.

I have met 2 different packgoat people in the past month that leave their goats in camp while hunting.

You can not do this. I was hiking off trail last weekend and heard a goat yelling out loud. I was at least a half mile away. I thought for sure someone lost a goat and they were lost calling for their owner. I followed the sound of the goat that I’m sure every bear and mtn lion in the area could hear as well. As I approached the goat I saw a tent and thought oh people are in camp with their goats. I approached to say hello and to find out no one is in camp. I thought to myself, wow, this is the 2nd person that I’ve seen recently that does this. 

To top it off they highlined their goats where they could reach each other. This is the most dangerous thing they could’ve done! You cannot tie your goats where they can reach eachother. They can cross lead lines and strangle eachother! It most likely will happen if they are left alone long enough.

People please at the very least have someone in camp with them and make sure they can’t reach other while tied up when they are not being closely watched.

[Nanno]

Yikes! Thank you for bringing this to our attention! Sounds like there are some rookie goat packers out there who need more/better instruction on backcountry goat management.

If for some reason a hunter must leave their goats unattended in camp, they need to use a portable electric fence. It's not as ideal as leaving a person in camp, but if the goats are fence trained at home then it will keep them from getting hurt in a highline and the fence will protect them from predators and loose dogs. I will repeat that about goats being electric fence trained at home! If they aren't used to an electric fence they will try to jump it, push each other into it, or they may zap themselves and bolt forward instead of back. Electric fencing is something that MUST be trained for at home, and if you take one on the trail you MUST ensure that it is well-grounded and HOT or will not do its job! Even if your goats are afraid to test it because of experience at home, predators and dogs still need to be deterred.

Something I have also done is I've left my goats in their trailer. This only works if you hauled to your base camp of course, but it is a safe and effective way to contain and protect your goats when you can't be with them.

[Taffy]

I agree with Stringinit. There is NEVER a reason to leave packgoats unattended in camp. Goats left in camp unattended are a buffet for predators. Electric fence will not stop a bear from barreling through the fence, a cougar will jump the electric fence and wolves or coyotes will jump or dig under the fence. Meanwhile the goats will be so panicked they will break through (or get tangled in) the electric fence to try to escape. If they're highlined, lowlined or staked out they cannot escape the predator. These goats have been trained that the human is their alpha. They will be distressed when their leader is out of sight.

Plan ahead to have someone in camp with you if you do not want to have the goats with you.

The NAPgA Best Management Practices should always be followed. You can read them here: https://napga.org/resources/helpful-docu...practices/

[Nanno]

Taffy makes some good points. A cougar could get over an electric fence. Thankfully most cougars touch a fence before jumping it and the shock frightens them away, but not always. Electric netting is excellent for deterring bears, wolves, and coyotes. They don't barrel through, jump over, or dig under such a fence. However, if they approach it the goats could indeed panic and jump over or bolt through the other side, especially if they have not learned to trust their fence at home. In the event of a predator attack, even having a person in camp is no surefire guarantee that goats won't be killed or get loose. I've seen goats break some really strong hardware when panicked, and if the hardware doesn't break, the goat's neck just might. There's always a risk, but we certainly lower it by making sure someone is always physically present with their goats. I also strongly recommend keeping a bell on at least one goat. The loud, unnatural sound may keep predators from approaching in the first place, and if a goat is alarmed the bell should awaken any sleeping humans.

So with the two people in the original post who left their goats in camp, did you find any contact info for them? The goats should have been wearing ID's with the owner's name and phone #. If they weren't wearing ID's then that's another problem.