A rare type of goat which was saved from being cooked into extinction by the Nazis is to make an appearance at Perth Show this weekend.
There is just 500 to 1000 breeding female Golden Gurnsey goats in the world, but that the breed still exists at all is down to Miriam Milbourne.
The German forces occupied her home island of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, on June 30 1940.
Eventually running short of food as a result of Royal Navy blockades, the Nazis took to eating the pretty, red-coated goats – along with most of the other livestock on the island.
Determined not to let the Nazis eat her herd, and risking execution if discovered, Miss Milbourne hid a small group of her goats.
She eventually used the remaining animals to establish a breeding programme. Although no longer considered in a “critical” status, the breed remains on the Watch List of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
One of those helping keep the breed alive is Avril Garrett, from Glenfarg, who has spent the last 14 years improving her herd with the help of her husband Robert and daughter Lisa.
This weekend they will offer a rare chance to see more than a dozen of the animals in one place.
Although they are only showing seven goats they do not plan on separating mothers from kids for the event, meaning they will have a total of 16 with them.
Avril, a retired photographer, said she had become involved with the breed by accident after spotting an advert in the paper.
“I just wanted a pet goat,” said the 55-year-old. “I ended up with two Golden Gurnseys but I didn’t know one goat from another.
“We don’t breed them every year but we have 10 babies this year. It’s so difficult to get a male – we had to go to Caithness to get one. There’s not many people breed them in Scotland unfortunately.
“Because there are so few of them people are having to search far and wide to find ones that aren’t related. I sold a male years ago to a lady in Northumbria and last year when I was looking for a male I found I had shot myself in the foot because all the males in the north of England and the Borders were all related to him.
“We show them locally. It’s not often you get to see 16 Golden Guernseys in one place.”
