Where have all the goats gone?

[Gone Fishing]

During our last and current visit I don't recall seeing a single goat roaming free in the North of the island.

Just wondering if a policy has been introduced to restrict / ban free range goats?

Also the goat statues in El Roque and Lajares roundabout have been removed.
Are goats no longer considered an important part of the island's heritage and economy?

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

A few years ago it became law that all goats had to be kept on the farmer's land, not to roam free anymore, to give the natural vegetation a chance to recover. Any that were not claimed/rounded up, by a certain date were rounded up by the cabildo.
As for the statues, I asked that question about a year ago and was told they 'had been rounded up' for refurbishment but they seem to be a long time coming back again, so who knows?

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks Tamara.

I had wondered if it was due to ecological concerns.

A herd of free range goats will do a lot of damage to low growing vegetation, so multiply that up by a few dozen and it's easy to see why the decision was taken.