I guess it's hard to remember when goats were an oddity.. I used to live less than a mile from where Google is located now, I moved from CA long before Google existed.. :) But it pleases me to see Google is using goats for brush clearing- Promote the Goat™
Google Brings The Damn Goats Back: "Jack McKenna
TechCrunch.com
Thursday, April 15, 2010; 4:19 PM
Google is bringing the goats back this year to keep the grass cut and to provide an excellent opportunity to show that they care about the environment. We made fun of them last year, and even tried to get PETA all riled up about goat's rights. Mostly because it seems the transportation and feeding of the goats sort of offsets the carbon savings from mowing the lawn, making this all a big PR stunt. But MG managed to get three posts out of it, including video with the goats. Sadly he's currently on vacation in Japan, so this will likely conclude our breaking Google goat coverage until next year. Our only hope is that Google eventually genetically engineers the goats to be all black in honor of Earth Day."
PETA On The Google Goats: Let Them Eat Grass (But They Need Perks)
Following up on our story about the hilariously absurd use of goats to mow the lawns around Google’s headquarters instead of lawnmowers, we were able to get a comment from PETA
, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA is okay with letting the goats be goats (eating grass and looking cute), but they have some major concerns about how they’ll be treated in doing these tasks. Says Amy Cook, an Assistant Manager of Marketing for PETA:
PETA has no problem with letting goats do what goats want to do (e.g., look cute and eat weeds), but we do have concerns about how the goats may be transported, whether they are provided with access to shelter during storms and shade as well as water during hot weather, where they are housed when they aren’t “working,” what kind of veterinary care they receive, and what becomes of old and/or excess goats. PETA has found over and over that whenever animals are used by a business to make money, corners are cut and animals often suffer as a result. And that really gets our goat, if you’ll pardon the pun.Read more:
Google Rents Goats To Replace Lawnmowers (I'm Not Kidding)
on its blog today explaining how it has rented a herd of goats to replace the lawnmowers that normally cut the grass in the fields around its headquarters. This is Google’s “low-carbon” approach to maintaining its property. Google is renting the goats from a company called California Grazing
. Apparently, every so often a herder will bring about 200 of them to the campus and they’ll roam around for a week eating the grass. Not only that, these goats will fertilize the land at the same time — yes, that way.It's hard for me to remember when I was a city girl living not far from the Google Headquarters (LONG before Google was there) and thinking how weird it would be for GOATS of all things to be in the city eating what is natural to them.. I mean we only see them at petting zoos in the city right? I find it funny now having raised goats for 18 years and not thinking what my life would be without them.. I love it..
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