'It started as joke': the animal Zoom calls delighting a locked-down public
While the rest of the world has been in lockdown, the goats of Cronkshaw Fold farm in Lancashire have never been busier. In the past few weeks they’ve been to a rave in Berlin and a birthday party in New Zealand, while Mary goes to church services every Sunday – all virtually, of course.
They’re one of an increasing variety of animal breeds people can now book to join their Zoom meetings, whether it’s to break the tedium of a work conference call or to surprise someone on their birthday.
“We started it as a bit of a joke really, and then we got inundated with messages,” said farmer Dot McCarthy. They now have capacity to do up to 100 Zoom calls a day, charging £5 for a 10minute appearance.
“I’m on the phone all day and people are just in hysterics because they’ve sneaked a goat into the business meeting and the boss hasn’t noticed,” said McCarthy. “It’s so ridiculous, it’s complete escapism. At the moment people just want something completely surreal so they can forget about everything else.”
The goats are all in pens as it is kidding season, making them convenient for filming, but also giving people the added bonus of seeing the newborns. “There was a group of women this morning who were all crying because they just love the baby goats,” McCarthy said.
In the US, Sweet Farm in California has animals including llamas available for video meetings, while in Fife, Scotland, Alison Johnson has started offering alpaca parties over Zoom to boost the farm’s income during lockdown.
The call is just like any chaotic family video call. New mother Emily bleats calming tones at two-day-old Ethan. Best friends Joseph and Owen are having an argument before playing up for the camera. Stubborn Reginald reluctantly glances at the screen with a scowl, apparently dismissive of the whole enterprise.
“The boys are on the whole more confident than the girls,” said Johnson, who runs Bowbridge Alpacas with her husband, son and daughter. “In the boys’ field, you’ll be talking about one alpaca and another alpaca will come up and photobomb. But they are all very friendly, and they all have their own personalities.”
During each Zoom party, she introduces a number of the alpacas, talks about their personalities, and reels off interesting facts, covering everything from their mating habits to the consistency of their fleece.
The farm offers bronze, silver and gold Zoom packages, which include options to adopt one of the 39 alpacas and add gift vouchers, greeting cards and even a lock of fleece along with the call. It has been a crucial source of revenue for the business, which normally relies on selling wool on the farm and at fairs, and offering alpaca experiences.
“The animals still need to be fed, and we still have vet bills,” Johnson said. “But we’ve already made the decision that we’re going to keep doing this when things go back to normal,” adding that it allows family and friends from all over the world to experience something together.
A huge range of businesses have turned to video calling as a way to keep their businesses afloat during the lockdown – everything from yoga classes to live events are being transferred to the virtual world.
Sedona Ferguson runs Goldilocks, a children’s entertainment company, and has adapted her kids’ birthday parties to work over Zoom.
For the younger children, she does musical statues and scavenger hunts, and dresses as princesses and pirates, while her TikTok dance parties – where she teaches viral dance routines – are more popular with the older ones.
“I was a little sceptical at first how a birthday party would work online, but I started promoting it on Facebook and it really took off,” she said. “I have had some Zoom calls with about 40 different people on, which is crazy.”
Having the parties online allows people to invite relatives from all over the world, some of whom might not have spent a birthday together in years. “I even had one lady message me and say that it was the best party she’s ever had, lockdown or not,” said Ferguson. “It’s something so out of the ordinary and so unlike what we’re used to that … it makes it memorable.”