Now Hiring: Goats
In the future, people will be replaced by goats? Well, sort of. The City of Anaheim is outsourcing groundskeeping jobs to a herd of 100 goats, hired to roam along the highway to clear overgrown brush in order to prevent fires.
NBC Los Angeles reports that Anaheim recruited the four-legged employees when they noticed that weather conditions were creating an atmosphere prone to fires, and the animals were well suited for removing environmental hazards. Plus, they'll work for below minimum wage!
"The goats are a cost effective and environmentally friendly way to clear these areas and make them safe," Ruth Ruiz, public information officer for the City of Anaheim, commented to the outlet.
A hundred goats working 24 hours a day to clear out six acres of land over a week costs only $5,000, which is one third the price of traditional methods.
This works out great for the government, but not for the goats. According to our calculations, each goat makes around $50 a week, or seven bucks a day, or 29 cents an hour. That would technically be slave labor except the goats are saving a lot of money on groceries. All they have to do is eat, and the job is done.
A field manager explained that goats consume almost anything because they have stomachs of steel, and that includes materials that could harm humans if touched. Their droppings do not contain seeds, so they don't reproduce the weeds they clear away.
Anaheim is not the first employer to subcontract jobs to goats. As many as 1,600 goats were used to clear out brush at Scripps Ranch, Glendale Community College, and downtown Los Angeles last year. Seattle used 120 goats to deal with a site too dangerous and steep for humans, and homeowners in various places are renting them to use in the backyard.
A comparison chart in USA Today shows that a goat's fee varies depending on where you live (goats earn more in cities, but most turn their nose up to traffic).
They're cheaper than lawnmowers …
Don't require gasoline …
Are terrain-proof ….
and instead of emitting pollutants, they fertilize the land with their poop.
In terms of life expectancy, goats still come out on top.
Ready to start headhunting? Goats reportedly don't use Craigslist because they do business through their managers: dogs. Also, we recommend hiring billy goats based on their experience with trolls.
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