A ‘squad’ of goats climbing on argan trees.Malaga’s ‘goat squad’ takes fire-fighting to a whole new bleat!Credit: Shutterstock, Miguel M.P
Release the goats! There’s an elite new team tackling wildfires in Spain, and they’re armed with nothing but their appetites. Benarraba, a tiny town tucked away in the picturesque Valle del Genal, has just made history by becoming the first municipality in Spain to deploy goats as official ‘firefighters’ – and it’s no shaggy-dog story.
With a modest investment of just €3,000, the council has acquired 40 hardy mountain goats to take on the fight against rampant undergrowth, which has been fuelling the risk of devastating wildfires. But this isn’t just about turning goats into four-legged fire wardens – it’s also a lifeline for traditional shepherding, a profession that’s been fading fast in recent times.
Flames meet their match – one nibble at a time
For years, the decline of livestock farming in the region has led to unchecked vegetation clogging the hillsides, turning the landscape into a tinderbox. While forest firefighters have been slashing firebreaks in a desperate bid to contain blazes, nature is proving to be the best solution yet. Enter the goat squad – natural lawnmowers with an appetite for destruction… of dry grass, that is.
And leading this woolly workforce is Mohamed Adiraman, a young Sahrawi shepherd who has been hired to oversee the new municipal herd. Thanks to Next Generation funding, his role is more than just herding goats – it’s about keeping the hillsides safe while reviving an ancient trade that once thrived in rural Spain. His recruitment is also part of a wider collaboration between Spain and the Sahrawi people, backed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
A future built on hoof-power
But the grand plan doesn’t stop at just one goat squad. The council aims to expand the project by setting up three municipal goat farms, allowing these nimble grazers to patrol different parts of the town’s sprawling 500 hectares of public land. The ultimate goal? To create a sustainable living for a family dedicated to rearing the herd – ensuring that traditional farming has a future in Benarraba.
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