Hunt for feral goat baiter of Devon

Villagers have shooed them, shot at them and vainly tried to befuddle them with a cattle grid - but the goats always find a way to sneak into gardens and vegetable patches and wreak havoc.

Yesterday, however, the battle between the wild goats and the frustrated villagers of Lynton in Devon took a sinister turn when the RSPCA revealed that an attempt had been made to kill the animals with green peppers spiked with poison.



The stuffed peppers were discovered next to a shelter that the goats take refuge in during bad weather. Last week somebody left green apples in the same spot, possibly to get the goats used to eating there. David Steele, an RSPCA chief inspector, said he suspected that whoever left the peppers was intending to kill the goats or ponies that also roam the area.

He said: "The peppers and their contents could easily have been consumed by birds and other wildlife. It is vital that we find who is responsible."

Several authorised culls have taken place and locals recently paid £40,000 for a cattle grid to try to block their path. Unfortunately, the goats learned how to tiptoe across. There are now up to 100 of them.

Elaine Drew, chairman of Friends of Lynton Goats, called the poisoning a "despicable and disturbing act".