Twenty-three purebred goats were stolen in the middle of a moonlit night last week, according to Keal Pontin, proprietor of Kahuku Goats, a farm on Oahu's North Shore. Two bucks were found the following morning with their mouths bound shut with duct tape and ropes around their necks.
Pontin, who was visibly upset during a television broadcast, explained that these goats were not only very expensive, but that he and his family cared for them. He said that 21 of the goats were pregnant and to get them off the farm, they would have had to have been heaved over a 6-foot-tall fence.
Not only that, six of the goats were pets which had been bottle-fed from birth. One of the pets was a goat called Kiwi, and Pontin noted that she was like a family member and losing her was particularly worrying, as she, like some of the other nannies stolen, was due to deliver very soon.
Pontin believes that the thieves must have been casing the farm for some time to learn their routines, because the hit was quiet and efficient. There must have been a few, big people at work, he believes, as it was no small task to get those goats bound and hauled off without much struggle.
Reports say other farms in the area have also experienced livestock theft recently, but Pontin said his property suffered an especially severe loss. He's offering a reward for the safe return of the animals, though a figure has not yet been made public. The value of the animals stolen was estimated to be about $10,000. The goat thieves face felony charges, KHON reported.
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