I would like to respond to the SunLive story ‘winter brings need for change' (May 14, 2014).

The tethering of a lone goat on a roadside is a practice that should not be allowed.
To do this to a social herd animal, that is in fact a browser and needs a variety of plant material, is just cruel. There still seems to be a lot of ignorance regarding goat's care and psyche.

If you cannot provide a free-range situation, with shelter, the company of at least another goat and lots to eat, then you should not have one.

They are intelligent sentient animals that need proper care and are not some sort of replacement lawnmower for lazy people, who would have them living boring lonely lives on roadsides - vulnerable to attacks by dogs and cruelty by other humans, as has been the case many times before.

T Robson, Marton.