Czech ‘rent-a-goat’ attraction helps African families

A wild west theme park in the Czech Republic has teamed up with a local humanitarian organisation to buy goats for rural African families through its novel “rent-a-goat” attraction.

Holiday makers visiting the park in Boskovice, southeast of the capital Prague, can have fun and do their bit to help others by renting goats to feed or romp around with for 10 Czech koruna (€0.40) as part of a project called Goats for Africa.

“Last year we sent €28,000 koruna to buy 214 goats ­– that’s a decent number,” said Lubos “Jerry” Prochazka, the “sheriff” and founder of the popular theme park that draws 60,000 to 100,000 visitors a year.

A local aid group called People in Need uses the funds to buy goats – hardy creatures that produce highly nutritious milk – for rural families in Africa and at times Asia.

The group, active in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Namibia as well as in several Asian and European states, also teaches families how to care for their new livestock so herds will multiply quickly.

“Our goal is to give the goats to people who have been taught so that the animals survive, reproduce and bring more benefit,” said Tomas Vyhnalek, chief fundraiser at People in Need which was created in 1992.

“In Sri Lanka, where people lost their herds in a war, nobody needed training because they are farmers who used to breed goats, so we simply gave them vaccinated animals,” said Mr Vyhnalek.

But in Angola, which is still recovering from a 27-year-long civil war that ended in 2002, “the herds were killed off and the farmers lost their know-how over the decades”, he added.