The City of Knoxville will soon allow residents to lease goats to eat invasive plants on their land.
The city already uses goats to mow down invasive kudzu in public parks.
Anyone with a piece of land more than 2,500 square feet will be able to have goats enclosed on their property grazing for up to 90 days.
City Council members passed the plan Tuesday night, but the ordinance will be back in front of the council in two weeks for final approval.
"They are very good at clearing brush. They will clear a pretty good patch of brush in about a month," said Suzanne Harper of Udder Joy Farms. "For clearing brush they are great. For clearing, grass, they are a little on the picky side."
Harper owns a herd of goats she uses for milk and soap. She knows just how difficult the animals are to take care of.
"Goats are escape artists. If you don’t have good fencing, they will find a way out," said Harper. "It just really comes down to having the right housing, fencing, and knowing what steps to take with them, or they become difficult."
The City of Knoxville has used goat contractors to manage invasive plant species on city property since 2010.
"Goats are very environmentally responsible. People think they're cute. People like them and they're very effective in what they do. They love to eat privet, kudzu," said David Brace, Chief Operating Officer of Knoxville. "If you think areas like Fort Dickerson where we have lots of invasives or Ijams Nature Center on some of the city property there, we could go in and use animals like goats to help eradicate that."
Now the goats could bring their big appetites right to your backyard.
All you need is a proper fence, a permit, and a whole lot of shrubs. 90 days later, your land could be cleared and a herd of goats will be very full.