The GOATs of conservation? Goats brought in to restore rare Leeds meadow could return next year

They’re the new kids on the block who are really raising the barr for conservation in Leeds.

These four-legged conservationists are really getting their teeth into helping restore a rare grassland meadow in north Leeds.

And these little goats could return next year if the seven week project is a bleating success.

The animals are grazing at Asket Hill near Roundhay, in a bid to restore the threatened habitat and encourage rare wild orchids and wildflowers to flourish once again.

Labour Coun Jordan Bowen said the meadow had suffered a decline in rare plants since horses, which previously grazed the land, left the site.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Asket Hill is a grassland meadow which is a really rare habitat, we used to have horses grazing on here which allowed rare flora such as wild orchids to grow.

“Since the horses left we’ve seen a lot more grass take over, which is called false-oat grass.”

The goats are being used to replicate the grazing conditions that helped maintain the meadow in the 1950s, with hopes that the rare grass will come back, and other plants will have room to grow.

Coun Bowen said the steepness of the hill had made traditional methods of managing the land difficult, with even farmers’ machinery unable to tackle the slopes.

The project involves 14 of the goat conservationists, and local residents have been helping to keep an eye on the animals.

Coun Bowen said the community had embraced the unusual visitors, with schoolchildren from across the road also showing an interest.

“We couldn’t have done this without the residents,” he said.

“We have an amazing army of watchers and residents who live close by who come and check on the goats every single day.”

The goats have certainly captured the locals attention, with a social media post about the project attracting 35,000 views, according to Coun Bowen.

The Yorkshire Evening Post went down to Asket Hill to get the latest on the goat-powered conservation project - but are these four-legged visitors really the GOATs (greatest of all time)?

We put the question to Coun Bowen, who said: “These goats are absolutely the greatest of all time, and I’m very happy we’ve got them for seven weeks.”

The success of the trial will be judged by whether rare grasses and wildflowers begin to return to the site.

If the results are positive, the goats could return next year to graze another section of the field.

Coun Bowen added: “If all goes well, we’re hoping that we can reconfigure the fence so that the goats next year will come back and will graze the other side of the field.

“We’re hoping we can continually have them over the years, so they can carry on the conservation work for us.”

For now, the hope is that the herd will help bring Asket Hill’s rare wildflowers back into bloom, one mouthful at a time.