Kashmir goat | Goat as a member of the royal army | Billy the goat

Having a goat as a member of the Royal Army might seem funny to most people, but it has been a British tradition for more than 200 years.

Lance Corporal William Windsor has served in the army for the last eight years, traveling overseas, meeting royalty and leading military parades. His comrades from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh said goodbye to their loyal colleague as he walked by to the trailer that took him to the zoo, where he will spend his retirement.

Billy the Goat is a Kashmir goat and was offered as a gift to the Royal Army, by the Queen herself. Billy’s replacement will be announced in June, when another kid goat will be picked from a heard in Great Orme, North Wales.

Photos by PA and Reuters.

Royal salute: Billy, a Kashmir goat, was a gift from the Queen in 2001

Guard of honour: The retiring goat, wearing full ceremonial dress, is led out for the last time by handler Lance Corporal Ryan Arthur

Fond farewell: The route from pen to trailer was lined by soldiers from the Chester-based regiment to say thank you to Billy for many years of service

Full ceremony: Billy, who is nine, prepares to travel in a trailer to Whipsnade Zoo

Pride: Billy, whose real name is William Windsor, bears a silver plaque - a gift from the Queen - a tradition that goes back to Queen Victoria's donation in 1884

Leaving home: Lance Cpl Ryan Arthur leads Billy through their digs in Chester

Family Planning for Goats in Kenya

The olor is held in place by a rope or an elastic strap

Maasai herdsmen in Kenya have turned to an age-old contraceptive device, the "olor", to protect their precious goat herds from an ongoing drought.

The olor is made from cowhide or a square piece of plastic, and is tied around the belly of the male goat.

It prevents the bucks from mating with the female goats.

The herdsmen are using the device to limit the goat population and ensure there are not too many animals grazing on sparse vegetation.

"We don't want them to breed in this drought," says Mr Ole Ngoshoi Kipameto, a goat owner in Kajiado district.

Vital assets

The area, which is 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, has received insufficient rainfall, making the landscape barren and forcing residents to move from place to place in search of pasture and water.

In the Maasai community, livestock are often people's only assets and sole means of survival.

"We tie this hide under the belly of the buck for three months. After that we remove it and then they can breed by November when the short rains come," Mr Kipameto says.

The olor saves employing separate herdsmen for male and female goats

The rectangular piece of cowhide is passed over the buck's head and front legs and secured under the belly in front of the hind legs with a rope or elastic strap.

"It looks like an apron," Mr Kipameto says.

Peter Ndirangu, the area livestock officer, says the olor is very effective.

"In the modern method, we advocate keeping the bucks separate from the breeding goats. But that is an added cost as you require two herdsmen - one for the bucks and one for the goats," he says.

"This [device] will play the part of a herdsman."

He says the device is very useful in keeping the herd numbers down and controlling when the goats give birth.

"If they give birth during harsh conditions like now, the mothers - the does - are going to be very weak, they're not going to feed their young ones properly," he says.

The device helps the herdsmen to restrict kidding to the period during and after the rains.

If the rains fall in October and November, the dry landscape will turn green again and the herdsmen will be able to settle with their livestock.

Until then, the herdsmen will have to employ the olor to protect their livestock and livelihood safe.

Those who do not use it could face a hefty fine if their bucks are found guilty of impregnating another herder's doe.

Goat Wins Most Beautiful Goat Contest

What a lovely underbite: A Damascene wins the Most Beautiful Goat title at the Mazayen al-Maaz competition in Riyadh despite a faint resemblance to Popeye.

Billy and Lilly have formed a close bond

A paternal dog has adopted an abandoned baby goat as his surrogate child.

Billy the boxer has become the constant companion of the 12-day old kid called Lilly. He sleeps with the goat, licks her clean, and protects her from any dangers at Pennywell Farm wildlife centre at Buckfastleigh, near Totnes, Devon.

The kid was abandoned by her mother when she was only a few hours old and adopted by paternal Billy when his owner Elizabeth Tozer began hand rearing the goat.

The unusual bond has developed over the last month and the pair are now inseparable.

Elizabeth said: "Lilly follows Billy around which is really quite amusing to watch and Billy sleeps with the goat and cleans her mouth after she feeds."



Lilly was the smallest of a litter of three kids and her mother abandoned her because she could only care for the two stronger ones. The pair have attracted quite a crowd at the animal centre and the staff are keen to see how their relationship will develop.