You've been scrolling Instagram and seeing stories and reels of goats. Lots of goats, cute, adorable and bouncing everywhere. Fainting goats, and pygmy goats that look like they'd love to live in your backyard. The perfect pet, right?
No, you do not want a pet goat
We're Goats and Friends. We love goats. But unless you have a farm and experience with farm animals (living ones what move on their own), we do not recommend getting a pet goat. They are curious, adventurous herd animals. Not a meek animal that'll stay in your backyard waiting for you to get home.
But you can still get a goat
Farm visits
You can always visit goats. If you have friends with a farm, great. If not, places like the Collingwood Children's Farm can do the trick. Sure, you can't pat them and only some places let you feed them yourself, but also being head butted with horns hurts.
Volunteering with goats
Community organisations with goats have a lot of work to be done. It's a great way to play with goats and do some good at the same time, with less responsibility than buying a pet goat.
The Collingwood Children's Farm accepts community and corporate volunteers in Melbourne. If you're in Sydney, take a trip out to Penrith to Flocking Adorable. Apart from needing goatherds, they want volunteers for their marketing and digital. You could spend your day taking photos while cuddling the little babies for an organisation with a brilliant name. And in Brisbane, Farm Animal Rescue needs part-time, full-time and even live-in volunteers for their goats, pigs, chickens and other animals.
Buy or sponsor a charity goat
There are lots of ways to fund a goat without getting an actual goat. See above why you don't actually want a pet goat. If you're wanting to sponsor and directly support goats, the Little Oak Sanctuary even lets you choose which goat and your monthly amount.
ChildFund Australia and other charities offer goat sponsorship that helps families and communities around the world. The goats provide milk for essential nutrients in areas where it's hard to grow food or find water.
We don't have any connection to these organisations, so do your due diligence before giving them your credit card. We also concede this isn't really getting a pet goat, but it is helping goats make the world a better place.
Send yourself one of our herd
Sure Goats and Friends is set up to send goats and farm animals to your favourite people but we'll never judge of you need a Margot or a Buck in your life. You can even ask us to write a note to you on the card. After all, you are the G.O.A.T.