Giant step for pygmy goats as national show moves to Cheshire

The Pygmy Goat Club National Breed Show will be held in the North of England for the first time this year.

 

Breeders will bring their best pygmy goats to the Cheshire County Show on Wednesday June 20 – the first time the premier event has been held away from North Devon or South Wales.

 

"It is a tremendous achievement that the Pygmy Goat Club has agreed to bring the biggest event in the calendar to Cheshire,” said Robert Kinsey, chief steward for the pygmy goat section at the Cheshire Show.

 

"With lots of pygmy goat breeders in the North it is great that we have got the chance to hold this prestigious event.”

 

Pygmy goats originate from Cameroon and Nigeria and were brought to the UK for zoos in the 1980s before being bred as pets or for their meat.

 

Their popularity soon spread and now there are more than 200 breeders across Britain. In the UK there are three types of pygmy goat – blues, browns and tri coloured – which can be recognised from the colour of their coats.

 

Robert and wife Wendy began breeding their own pygmy goats seven years ago after buying two animals as pets. Now they have their own pedigree ‘Alwena’ herd of 34 goats at their home in Scholar Green, Stoke-on-Trent.

 

"We had no intention of breeding our goats at the start, but we developed such a love for the animals we decided we wanted to take breeding and showing more seriously,” said Robert. "Looking after the goats at the same time as doing our jobs means plenty of early starts and long days, but we really enjoy it.”