ADAM’S ANIMALS

After 300 years on the other side of the world, the ‘Old English’ goat is back on its home soil. Farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson travels to the antipodes to discover this lost breed

Globetrotting descendents of the ‘Old English’ goat return to our shores.

You might think there’s nothing very special about goats. But even someone like me, who’s spent a lifetime surrounded by these friendly, characterful animals, can be surprised by a new discovery.

In this country, there are a handful of instantly recognisable types of goat kept on farms; rare-breed Golden Guernseys and Bagots, the increasingly popular South African Boer goat and Swiss imports, such as the Toggenburg and the Saanen. The long-eared ones are Anglo-Nubians; there are black-and-white British Alpines and the miniature breed, which is such a hit with children of all ages, is the Pygmy goat. So far, so simple. But what about England’s long-forgotten breed, lost for over 300 years on a tiny island, half a world away?

I didn’t know anything about the Arapawa goat until I visited New Zealand. I was intrigued, so I decided to go in search of this elusive, almost mystical breed, and took a boat trip across Cook Strait, the expanse of water that separates the North and South Islands. The strait is named after British explorer Captain James Cook, who became the first Westerner to sail through the channel in the 1770s. Cook made a habit of taking Old English goats on his voyages around the globe, mostly to provide milk for his crew but also to leave in remote locations along the way, to serve as a source of food on his return journey.

The Old English goat was a tough, upright kind of animal with a fringy coat and large horns, so it was no hardship for it when the explorers left a small number on Arapawa Island, at the top of the South Island. The animals thrived and within a few decades, the tiny island was swarming with them. Sadly, their fortunes couldn’t be more different today; they’re now critically endangered and one of the rarest goat breeds in the world, with only about 150 left.

TRACKING DOWN THE DESCENDANTS

In the company of New Zealand rare-breeds expert Michael Willis, we searched the shores as our boat skirted Arapawa Island. After what seemed like hours with no signs of life, we suddenly noticed something moving on the beach. I grabbed my binoculars and sure enough, there was an Arapawa goat tiptoeing down to the shore. Soon, I spotted another one hiding in the bushes. Then another. In all, we caught sight of about a dozen shy, feral Arapawas – the very descendants of Captain Cook’s original herd. When we made land, Michael had another treat waiting. He introduced me to a pair of domestic Arapawas so I could get a close-up look at these great livestock survivors.

After more than three centuries, this goat tale has now come full circle. Arapawas have returned to the UK; about 30 of them are being reared and bred here, including a small herd on Mary Arden’s Farm at Wilmcote, Warwickshire, where Shakespeare’s mother grew up. The farm has a collection of British breeds, such as Cotswold sheep and Longhorn cattle, as well as birds of prey. So the goats from New Zealand are a perfect fit as the modern representation of the Old English goats of Elizabethan England. Their numbers are increasing year-by-year, and the herd looks right at home beside the wooden-framed Tudor buildings. I can’t think of a more fitting home for a globetrotting goat.

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