Shannon Moneo, The Globe and Mail, November 22, 2008 (PRINCE GEORGE)
The City of Prince George is hunting for a herd of goats after a two-year study determined that the herbivores have as much bite as herbicides when it comes to controlling troublesome weeds on its property.
"For large areas that are difficult to control, the goats were highly effective," said Annie Booth, an environmental studies professor at the University of Northern British Columbia.
Now that the project has finished, officials at the northern city of 80,000 are looking ahead to 2009.
"If we can find someone to provide us with goats, we'll use them," said Marco Fornari, the city's utilities manager. "Any time we can use a more natural approach to weed control, we try to."
During Dr. Booth's 2007-08 spring and summer study, 10 Boer goats were put into service.
Two of the test areas surrounded sewage lagoons where herbicides can't be used because they would interfere with the biological breakdown of sewage.
The trial at the third location, in a rural residential neighbourhood, was scrapped very early in 2007 after a dog got under the fence and killed one of the goats, Dr. Booth said.
As the goats settled in at the two sites, they cost-effectively chomped their way through invasive weeds like orange hawkweed and horsetail, pretty well eliminating them. They also kept prickly thistles in check and did a bang-up job on dandelions.
"Municipalities spend a ton of money to control dandelions," Dr. Booth said. "Most calls they get are on dandelions."
In one report, Dr. Booth noted that Prince George spent $90,000 in 2003 to apply undiluted herbicides and pesticides on 365 hectares.
While figures weren't available for the cost of weed control at the test sites, in 2007, Prince George spent almost $13,500 on herbicides just for dandelion control on the boulevards and medians of two streets, a 4.25-hectare area.
The goats cost $100 each.
Other expenses during the two-year experiment included vet bills, shelter for the animals and supplementary feed.
But by far, most of the $7,000 spent over two years was for fencing - a startup, not an annual, expense.
"Goats are bloody little escape artists if they run out of food," Dr. Booth stressed.
Once secure livestock fencing was installed and the animals were moved around to ensure they didn't run out of grub, they did fine, Mr. Fornari said.
But goats aren't a perfect solution because, as grazers, they will eat everything in their keen sights, including flowers and shrubs, Dr. Booth said. She suggested that a guide work with the very curious and sociable ruminants as they were rotated throughout weedy city sites.
Despite minor drawbacks, goats are preferable to chemical weed controls.
"Most herbicides have significant human and environmental costs," said Dr. Booth, who relocated from Wisconsin to Prince George. Regular exposure to herbicides has been linked to the development of Parkinson's disease, nervous disorders and some cancers, she said.
In 2006, Quebec banned most pesticides and, across Canada, dozens of municipalities, including Toronto, are joining the effort.
Dr. Booth's study may be the first to determine how well goats work as an alternative weed-control method. She intends to take her green findings to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which financed the project, and recommend that municipalities consider goats.
In the United States, Los Angeles and the University of Washington at Seattle use the four-legged weed whackers, Dr. Booth said.
In Prince George, Mr. Fornari is putting out the call for a herd to start work in the spring.
"We don't want to get into the business of owning goats. It could be a rent-a-goat program," he said.
The city may also have to amend a bylaw that forbids livestock in the city.
When the study finished this fall, the five female goats were purchased by a breeder in Burns Lake, B.C. The five males were sold for slaughter.