Worst May Be Over in Lethal Goat Ailment

Officials are cautiously optimistic that the worst is over in a mysterious ailment that killed about 20 goats earlier this week after they had been grazing on a brushy hillside as part of a fire control program.

Laguna Beach Fire Chief Richard Dewberry said sick goats have been inoculated with penicillin and isolated from the rest of the herd. The animals seem to be responding to the medication, and no additional deaths have occurred within the last 24 hours, the chief said Friday afternoon.

Until the results of toxicology tests are available early next week, officials can’t be sure whether the goats were killed by a poisonous substance or a bacterial infection. There is also a possibility that poison could have weakened the animals, thus making them susceptible to an infection.

Dewberry said the ailment hit the herd “hard and quick” on Wednesday when the goats were grazing next to the fire road between Arch Beach Heights and the Top of the World area. A field check conducted by the Fire Department and the county Environmental Management Agency found that oleander was the only poisonous plant growing in the area where the goats had been feeding. Because oleander is not believed to have caused the deaths, officials are investigating the possibility that a poison was inadvertently disposed of in the brush, or intentionally placed there as a deadly bait.

The goats were brought to Laguna Beach in July as part of the Fire Department’s annual fuel management program. The goats are creating about 40 miles of firebreak in residential areas.