There’s a fundraiser on Indiegogo to help save a family farm in Iceland from foreclosure. While that’s sad enough in itself, this farm is special because it currently houses about half of the world’s population of the endangered Icelandic Goat.
Aren’t these guys cute?
Years ago Johanna Thorvaldsdóttir gave up a career as a nurse to return to her family farm and raise the Icelandic goat. She’s helped raise the global population of the breed from a low of under 90 individuals at one point last century to the 850 or so today.
Johanna
Unless they can raise the necessary funds by mid-September the farm will be foreclosed on and the goats sold and slaughtered. This would be a huge setback for the species not only from the loss of the goats, but from the loss of experience Johanna has gained in raising them and turning them into profitable animal.
So if this breed of goat is endangered, why isn’t the government helping? Iceland is required by international treaty to prevent the breed’s extinction, but funds are limited – farmers only receive US$36 per goat per year, up to twenty goats per farm. Johanna has around four hundred goats.
Right now the campaign has raised just shy of US$58,000 in its first month. That includes the US$5,000 raised since last night when this came to my attention, I think mostly on the back of this Tumblr post. So let’s see if we can save Frank the Goat’s Viking cousins; every little bit helps!
Further reading
* Modern Farmer – Photos:Fighting to Save the Icelandic Goat
* Iceland Review – Over USD 40,000 Raised to Save Icelandic Goat
* Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America – The Icelandic Goat Breed
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