A farmer points at the empty pen, which now serves as the chicken house. (Photo/cyol.com)

At the end of June, all the goat farmers in Puxian Couty, Shanxi province received a notification from the local government. The notice informed them that hillsides would be closed to livestock grazing, and that all goats would have to be reared in captivity.

Unlike other years’ grazing prohibitions, this notification required farmers to comply within ten days. Under such pressure, the farmers faced a dilemma: they would be fined if they continued to graze their goats on nearby hillsides; on the other hand, their goats would starve to death if they didn't. As a result, many sold their goats at very low prices, while others drove their herds to other counties. 

Beijing News reported that, by Aug. 10, over 24,000 goats of the 27,000 previously in the county had been sold or migrated. Only 3,000 goats were being kept in captivity, in accordance with the new regulation. One villager told the reporter from Beijing News that he sold his goats for 300 yuan each. If he had been able to wait until spring, the price would have been at least 600 yuan. 

Since 2000, Puxian County has begun closing hillsides to livestock grazing due to the area's fragile ecosystem. In recent years, the goat population has seen a rapid increase, and many goats were grazed in prohibited area. 

Xue Fengkui, the Party secretary of Puxian County, said that some officials didn’t fully consider the interests of farmers during the implementation of the grazing policies. Their method was overly simple and crude, which has brought some negative effects. The county's Party Committee and local government have set up an investigation to look more closely into the incident. Relevant staff will be held accountable and the losses of the goat farmers will be compensated. 

On Aug. 13 and 15, the Party Committee and county government held two meetings to analyze the issues with implementation. The main leaders and responsible officials were given appropriate punishments. 

(Photo/cnwest.cn)