Farmers in the Tramuntana Mountains are raising the possibility of being able to sell wild goat meat. The suggestion has come about as a means of tackling goat overpopulation. It was one of the most voted for proposals at a meeting organised by the Tramuntana XXI lobby group. It would require legislative amendment in order to permit the direct sale of products from farms in the mountains, and this sale would include goat meat.
The meeting was of people who are engaged in managing the mountains, such as forestry agents. It was felt that the control of goat colonies will increase farm profitability.
The regional government and the Council of Majorca are both querying the feasibility of the proposal. The public health department has stressed that it would, for instance, require a specialist slaughterhouse, while there would be rigorous food standards to be met.
The Council's director for hunting, Joan Manera, says that there was a similar proposal three years ago which his department worked on. This had to take account of a European directive on species overpopulation and ran up against the point about the need for a specialist slaughterhouse. He notes that a scheme in Spain for wild boars was viable in terms of profitability, factoring in the cost of a slaughterhouse, but that there isn't the same viability where wild goats are concerned.