Black Vultures Killing North Carolina Goats

WARNING! This post contains graphic pictures of our goat killed by black vultures.

In the past 6 weeks 7 goats have been viciously attacked and killed by these vultures and we are unaware of what to do.

We live in a rural area south of Greensboro, North Carolina for the past 3 years. There are 2 separate goat pastures. The one on the far side also contains 3 large horses. The one closest to our house has just goats.

6 weeks ago walking along the driveway I noticed about 15 vultures in the pasture, which means only one thing, something is dead. I ran in to chase them off and 4 baby goats were killed and half eaten.

At that point we weren’t sure if something else killed them first and the vultures were there cleaning up. After some research my father-in-law said there was a new vulture in town, other than the Turkey Vulture. This bird called the Black Vulture preys on livestock.

A couple weeks after the first attack another goat was killed. Then 2 more were killed within days of each other. One of the deceased goats were in the middle of an open field with many twigs around her. This tells me the birds came down from the trees breaking off branches as they landed.

The way the goats were eaten started from behind and some of their eyes were pecked out. The head of the goat was usually left behind. I have seen so much horror that I am numb to it now. I just want to find out how to stop this. I know the birds have great eye sight and wondering if they are killing in the evening hours.

The last goat to be killed was at least 5 months old and not a helpless baby.

I have been sleeping close to the back door so I can hear goats yelling and possibly scare the birds off. Vultures don’t make much noise at all.

I noticed goat hair 20 feet from where she died. It looks like she tried to get away, poor thing.

We love our goats and I am deeply disturbed by all of this unnecessary killing.

I have put a call into the North Carolina Wildlife Services Office at 919-786-4480 today and hoping to hear a response soon. We have taken it upon ourselves to kill a few black vultures that have found a home in a nearby tobacco barn.

We may need a Migratory Bird Depredation Permit issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to shoot these birds. If anyone has some insight on this matter, please respond.

We Love Our Goats!!!!

Diana Gardner-Williams  www.dianadigsdirt.com