A bidder has offered to buy all of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank’s goats after a parasite had impacted the herd.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank unanimously approved accepting the sole bid from Derick Costa on Monday, who plans to butcher the animals.
According to Winston Bell, the Land Bank livestock manager, the bidder offered to purchase the entire goat herd for $10 per goat, under the condition that he can come and pick them up.
“I feel pretty good about this option, because there’s someone who’s going to buy them and they’re going to be used for something, and I think that’s a pretty good outcome,” Bell said, who recommended the organization accept the “great bid.”
Maureen Hill, the Land Bank office manager, said the goats were being sold so cheaply because the conservation organization wouldn’t need to cover the bill of transporting the animals off-Island.
The Land Bank introduced the goat grazing program in 2013 to manage invasive plants on its properties, but the conservation organization was forced to halt the operation when a ruminant-based parasite ravaged the herd. Erin Masur, a veterinarian who works with the Land Bank, advised refraining from using grazing goats on Land Bank properties for 18 to 24 months, to allow time for the parasite to die out naturally.
The Land Bank will be developing a proposal over the next two years regarding its new herd.
Bell previously told the Times that while finding good homes for the more than 150 goats was the Land Bank’s goal, they also recognized the possibility of a buyer purchasing them for meat.
The bidder will be taking the goats off the Vineyard on Friday.
