Have You Herd? Goats Get to Work in Lemon Grove

Lemon Grove is a little safer today thanks to a herd of hungry goats.

With a crowd of curious onlookers gathered nearby, about a 150 Boer goats from Environmental Land Management got down to business Saturday morning doing a couple of the things they do best—eating and, um, fertilizing the ground.

The goats were hired by the city and fire department to clear two abandoned parcels off Lawton Drive of scrub and other dry vegetation, and create defensible space for the more than 70 homes in the area. They are expected to eat their way through eight and one-half acres of material that is deemed a fire hazard by Tuesday.

The city has several property tax liens against the parcels’ owner, the defunct LG Environmental Properties Inc., in an effort to recover costs spent maintaining the open space over the years since the owner stopped keeping it up. This is the first year goats have been used for the job.

Those who showed up Saturday morning to see the unusual sight got to see goats unloaded from a trailer, and were entertained by watching baby goats play. Onlookers were allowed into the goat pen to pet the docile animals before they were herded down Lawton Drive to start working.