À la chasse au cabri - goat hunting

JEK

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Going hunting


Volunteers from metropolitan France for the benefit of the INE (Island Nature Saint-Barth Experiences) association are completing their six weeks of volunteering. Among their missions,
hunts to capture wild kids.
Development of the plan before the start of the beaten track, at Gouverneur.
That day ten goats were captured, for an operation that lasted five hours.
that afternoon, ten animals will be captured, out of a herd of 50 to 60 kids. Parked, the goats are then taken on foot, with a rope as a leash, to the Saint-Barth families who want it to consume the meat. Colombo or goat meat stew is a traditional island dish. Pregnant females are entrusted to "breeders", in the traditional sense of the term, since they are not licensed as such
.
The beatings continue until mid-November in the hills of Saint-Barth. This first six-week session made it possible to capture 49 goats, another begins with new volunteers. The INE association receives numerous requests from owners who wish to regulate the number of kids on their land. Too much, even, to be able to meet all the demand.


As a reminder, goats in the wild proliferate and by grazing everything they find, they harm the local vegetation and the species that depend on it. In addition, this leads to soil erosion towards the sea, which also degrades coral reefs.


At the Governor, to prevent everything from having to be redone, the area will be surrounded by an electrified fence. A cistern and a drip network have been installed by the volunteers, and after installing the solar pump, the soil can be irrigated in order to promote plant growth and slow erosion.
Rudi Laplace's dream is to create a goat farm in Saint-Barth, with mini-production of goat cheese. High-end, of course, to match the island's clientele. He went to professionals in metropolitan France, and for him, it is achievable, by crossing our local species with animals more productive in milk, and by creating a small herd of about fifty animals, parked and cared for by a breeder, in the rules of the art. A 100% organic and local fresh goat cheese, and why not?
It is 2 pm in the parking lot on the beach at Gouveur. On the sand, a handful of American tourists laze around, sophisticated women and men carrying cold drinks. On the dreary side, a group of nine young people, mostly girls, is formed. They all wear the same T-shirt with the INE logo, soaked and torn, and straw hats that are obviously from the past. Hiking shoes on, girls in shorts have their legs scratched and eaten by insects.


Everyone leans around Rudi Laplace, president of the INE association, who places a map on the hood of a car. Governor's point, with orange lines representing the nets and the park that the volunteers set up in advance. We separate: two young men storm the
point overlooking Chauvette and Gouverneur, walkie-talkie in hand; the rest of the group leaves for the plateau, further from the sea. The operation is of course carried out with the agreement of the owner of all this bleak, who is none other than Roman Abramovich.


We begin the ascent on the steep slope, trying to avoid the holly wood, the rocks that slip under the feet and the tips of the agaves. " The ! Whispers a volunteer who has no eyes on where she sets foot. She points to two kids who run away as the group approaches. Very quickly we reach the plateau, where there is an old half-collapsed wall. Huge candle cacti, with thick trunks and roots, are completely naked, dead. "It is the kids who devour them, by dint of the cactus no longer has
sap and it dies, ”explains Rudi Laplace.


The girls take advantage of this break on the dish to taste a handful of quenettes. Most of INE's volunteers study or work in the field of the environment in metropolitan France. They
see in these few weeks of volunteering the op- portunity to travel while being useful, to discover the biodiversity of the Lesser Antilles, and make Saint-Barthélemy a gateway to visit the Caribbean.
Planted at the top of the hill,
the girls are waiting for the signal. Rudi Laplace started on the other side, towards Anse Chauvette. "Crrrk Crrk ..." The talkie-walkie speaks, now is the time, they in turn descend to get into position. The vise tightens around the kids, pushed in the direction of the nets. Finally
 
We have been discussing the huge goat population and the damage they have been doing here in Lurin. Glad to see this attempt to bring the wild goat numbers down and help vegetation to survive.
 
TI believe the owners of Coach leathergoods were producing goat cheese on a farm in upstate NY. Yes, follow your dreams.
 
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