'If I was a goat I'd be looking to be captured' - Michael Healy Rae defends Kerry's Puck Fair
The Kerry TD defended Ireland’s longest-running festival on Newstalk Breakfast, during which a goat is raised into the air for an hour.
Independent TD Michael Healy Rae voiced his approval for Kerry's upcoming Puck Fair on the radio this morning, saying that the goat involved in treated so well that he would volunteer if he was one.
The Puck Fair, Ireland’s longest-running festival kicks off in the town of Killorglin tomorrow, and continues until the 12th August.
Every year a feral goat is captured from the Kerry mountains and brought back to town, where the 'Queen of Puck', traditionally a young school girl from one of the local primary schools, crowns the goat 'King Puck'.
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Traditionally, the goat is then put into a small cage on a high stand for three days, and on the 3rd day of the fair, he is brought down to be led back to the mountains.
More recently, following significant objections from animal rights groups, "King Puck" has only been displayed on the fair stand for a couple of hours rather than 3 whole days.
Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae told Newstalk Breakfast he'd happily volunteer for the position if he was a goat.
Speaking to host Shane Coleman, Healy Rae explained: "If I was a goat up above around Ballyclave or Glenbeigh and if I knew there was people out and I knew what was ahead of me, I'd be coming forward from the crowd looking to be captured".
"They're treated so well: their toenails are clipped, they're groomed and when they're released they're in better condition.
"Outside of the goat itself the safety people, the safety marshals, the publicans, the business people - everybody pulls together.
"It's not just the excellent hard-working committee, it's all the business people in the community, it's all the locals working to put on what is an excellent, unique fair".
Healy-Rae continued to defend the festival, saying that the organisers work with vets for the event.
"Anybody who knows anything about animals knows that the one way you can judge the welfare of an animal is if they put on weight," he said.
"When a puck goat is captured the very first thing that is done is they're weighed and the vets check them, and everything is always done in an excellent fashion.
"When the goats are released they're always in better condition than what they were when they actually were captured."
Selling the event, Healy-Rae (who host Shane Coleman jokingly labelled a "goat whisperer") added that "all roads lead to Kerry" and labelled the event "the experience of a lifetime".
According to festival organisers, the welfare of the goat is "of utmost importance" to all involved, and "strict protocols" are in place to ensure this. These strict protocols are also apparently overseen and checked by an independent veterinary surgeon.