'Pill' for goats thrown out

The goats have lived on the Great Orme for a hundred years

Councillors in north Wales have thrown out plans to put a herd of Kashmir goats which roam free on a north Wales headland on the pill.

Members of Conwy council have decided instead to look at the possibility of culling the 250-strong herd populating the Great Orme at Llandudno.

The animals are said to descend from a pair presented by the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria.

It was agreed that putting the female members of the herd on a birth control programme - through progesterone implants - would take too long to reduce the numbers significantly

The breed was maintained by Queen Victoria

Councillors on Conwy's policy committee also rejected a suggestion of moving some of the herd to other country parks after hearing that the herd's size needs to be reduced as soon as possible.

The size of the goat population meant action has to be taken quickly, members were told.

Previous attempts to cull the goats have met with opposition from animal rights activists.

A working party, including a local vet and a representative from the RSPCA is to look again at a possibility of a cull on welfare grounds.

Goats have been associated with the area for more than a hundred years.

The animals living there today are descendants of the first of breed to arrive in Britain.

They were maintained by Queen Victoria and were used as mascots for he Royal Welch Fusiliers.

The seaside town of Llandudno, Great Orme

Relocation of some of the herd has been suggested because of concerns that if foot-and-mouth was to hit the picturesque tourist spot, the whole herd would have to be culled and the unique bloodline lost.

Several alternatives have been considered, but officers - with the backing of the RSPCA, a local veterinary surgeon, the Countryside Council for Wales and Mostyn Estates which own the land - have decided that progesterone implants are the best option.

Last year experts warned that the herd could die out unless they were moved.

But there were concerns that splitting up the herd is unnecessary, and could bring to an end the goats' long association with the headland.