STORY: Italy’s Girgentana goats are on the brink of extinction.
:: San Cataldo, Italy
Farmers in the Sicilian town of San Cataldo say the scorching sun has dried out the goats’ grazing land…
And that, little drinking water is left from below-average rainfall and a prolonged drought.
The difficult combination has farmers concerned they may soon be forced to slaughter them.
CAMMARATA: “If we cannot at least satisfy the animals’ demand for water, they run the risk of being sent to slaughter. There is no other way, no other solution. There is no market for live animals.”
Girgentana goats are native to Sicily.
For centuries, they have been bred for dairy products like cheese and ricotta.
But their home is grappling with a water shortage and record-breaking high temperatures.
Reservoirs are running dry or operating at very low levels.
A prolonged drought last year led Sicilian authorities to ration water, even for domestic use in major cities.
:: Luca Cammarata, Girgentana goat breeder
“If every last drop of water falling from the sky is not collected, Sicily will become a desert. We need dams, wells, lakes, and everything that can be put in place to collect water.”
Luca Cammarata is a local breeder.
He says he’s made many sacrifices to keep his goats – the latest being water tankers, which doubles the cost of water consumption for him.
“The land is dry, the lakes we have placed in the pastures are completely dry. It is difficult to satisfy the animals with the drinking water we have, and we are forced to plug the problem with water tankers.”
Cammarata relies on the Carabinieri Forestry Department’s tanker truck, which every 15 days reaches the province’s farms and livestock breeders.
Alessandro Panzarella, a member of the Carabinieri who drives the truck, calls the situation ‘disastrous.’
:: Alessandro Panzarella, Carabinieri member
“We are giving support to these farms struggling with this unprecedented drought. We transport water for farmers hit by water shortages or where the water network is absent. The problem is that with only one tanker truck for the whole province, it becomes impossible to meet the needs of all the farmers.”
Without water, Cammarata said he would be left with a difficult reality.
CAMMARATA: “Either we can meet this need or we are forced to slaughter the animals.”
Source Agencies
