Salem Lays Off Goat Cleanup Crew

The goats were too expensive and too smelly.

The legislative session isn't the only thing that's coming to an end in Salem.

A pilot project in which goats were set loose in a Salem park to eat invasive species was inefficient, expensive, and smelly, according to a report by the city's Public Works Department.

The Statesman Journal reports:

Yoder Goat Rentals, the Molalla-based supplier of the goats, was upbeat about the project.

The report "was a little disappointing," Yoder Goat Rentals co-owner Rachel McCollum tells WW. "But the public response to them was awesome. They were very well-received."

What's next for the goats? Possibly Portland.

"We've done quite a bit of work in Portland," McCollum says. "We expect to be out there again soon."

Yoder will find some competition in Portland. Sue Stahl, a candidate for Portland City Council, also rents out her goats for cleanup projects.

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