Thursday 13 November 2025
-

After spending nearly a year and a half working as our chalk grassland ecosystem engineers at one of our most unique sites, our herd of eight Boer goats have said goodbye to their digs at Folkestone Warren and hello to their new home at Samphire Hoe.

The goats have worked effortlessly to tackle some of the dense scrub in the Warren, nibbling away at various woody and scrubby species such as wayfaring tree and dogwood, which out compete and shade out specialist chalk grassland wildflower species like horseshoe vetch and field scabious. Their work has meant Nathan, our Folkestone Warren site ranger, and his team of volunteers have been able to remove the now leafless scrub, making way for a new area of rare chalk grassland – we can’t wait to see what grows in this space next year!

You may be wondering why we have moved them despite doing such a good job at the Warren. One of the key reasons was that we felt their breed is better suited to the conditions at Samphire Hoe, where they can thrive while helping us tackle the persistent bramble. By having this continuous grazing pressure throughout the year, we hope the bramble will be kept under control with less need for ranger intervention.

Plans for the return of goats at Folkestone Warren are still in their early stages, however, the overall aim is to continue our goat grazing on the site with a breed that’s naturally well suited to the Warren’s conditions. The likely candidates will be a hardy native breed of goat which can usually be found in the wilds of Northumberland. This will ensure the goats can thrive through the British winter and navigate the challenging terrain!

You’ve ‘goat’ to be careful around livestock!

During the winter months, Samphire Hoe is home to various cattle and sheep. With the arrival of goats, the site is starting to look a bit like farm!

With more livestock on site, we kindly ask visitors to keep dogs on a lead throughout the main site. This helps protect the livestock and keeps you and your pets safe. Dogs are welcome off-lead on the shingle beach at the west end of the reserve, so you can still give them a good run.

When visiting the site, you are welcome to take photos of the goats but please appreciate them a distance and refrain from approaching them. The goats are equipped with ‘NoFence’ collars technology which creates an invisible boundary that they are specially trained to recognise and, therefore, should not be able to walk on main footpaths. Please keep yourself and the goats safe by staying on the designated path. Despite appearing friendly, goats can be unpredictable and should not be interacted with.

Thaaa-nk you to our Folkestone Warren lookers

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated Folkestone Warren lookers who have made the long trek to the herd throughout the last year, in all weathers. Their hard work has ensured the safety and welfare of the goats, allowing them to create a real difference at the Warren.

Many of our sites have livestock which need regular livestock checkers. If you would like to volunteer as a livestock checker, fill in the form below:

https://bit.ly/WCCPVolunteerForm

-
Lewis Smith
Samphire Hoe Ranger