Лондонцы могут передать рождественские елки на корм животным

Grazing officer Jo Saunders of the Surrey Wildlife trust delivers another discarded Christmas tree to the trust's herd of goats for them to eat at Pond farm in Surrey. The trust has developed a novel and environmental way of getting rid of some of the thousands of discarded trees following the Christmas period by feeding them to their goats. Press release: Staff at Surrey Wildlife Trust have come up with a novel way of recycling their old Christmas trees – feeding them to their herd of greedy goats! The animals have been munching their way through the prickly pines this week at their winter home at Pond Farm in Wisley. “Our grazing goats have been loving their special New Year treat and it’s a great way to recycle our unwanted Christmas trees!” said grazing officer Jo Saunders. “While it’s not true that goats will eat anything, they are very curious and will eat a wide variety of plants. They’re able to eat very prickly plants easily - favourites include gorse, bramble and of course Christmas trees! This makes them excellent scrub managers.” The Trust now has a herd of nearly 20 goats, which originated from feral populations on the coasts of Devon and North Wales back in 2009. The animals are used for conservation grazing, which is the most natural way of looking after the landscape – and goats can access areas that machinery can’t. The animals also have less impact than burning or cutting would, so allowing slower moving species to thrive. “The goat's job is simply to eat!” added Jo. “We put them out onto nature reserves in small paddocks to eat woody species, which stop them from taking over precious habitats such as heathland and chalk grasslands.” In the summer you may find the goats on heathland sites like Wisley Common and nearby Esher Common, where they munch through young pine and birch trees, conserving habitats for ground-nesting birds such as nightjars and Dartford warblers. Material must be credited "The Times/News Licensin