It was once believed that the wild goats on Arapawa Island were introduced by James Cook, and were descended from the ‘olde English Milch goat’. It is now thought more likely that they were taken to the island in the 1830s by whalers who had a station there. In any case, their genetic make-up is unique. There was a plan to eradicate them in the 1970s, but an American resident on the island, Betty Rowe, set out to defend them. Eventually they were saved, and more than 100 of the goats now live in a sanctuary that she set up.
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by Betty Rowe
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