A Judas goat is a trained

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

used in general animal

herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and onto trucks. They have fallen out of use in recent times, but can still be found in various smaller slaughterhouses in some parts of the world, as well as conservation projects. Cattle herders may use a Judas steer to serve the same purpose as a Judas goat. The technique, and the term, originated from

cattle drives in the United States Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, particularly between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas, for shipment to stockyards in ...

in the 1800s. The term is a reference to

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

, an apostle of Jesus Christ who betrayed Jesus in the Bible.

Project Isabela in the Galàpagos Islands

Project Isabela The Project Isabela ( es, Proyecto Isabela) was an environmental restoration project in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador that took place between 1997 and 2006, initiated by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park. Specie ...

was a goat extermination initiative in the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuad ...

that started in 1997 and ended in 2006. Approximately 140,000 goats were living in the wild on the islands and threatening the local ecosystem. Goats were killed by gunmen in helicopters and by foot. Judas goats were used to lure the remaining goats to their death. The project cost 6 million dollars.

Goats tracking feral goats

The phrase has also been used to describe a goat that is used to find

feral goat The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world. Species Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...

s that are targeted for eradication. The Judas goat is usually sterilised, outfitted with a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

, painted in red and then released. The goat then finds the remaining herds of feral goats, allowing hunters to exterminate them. The popular podcast ''

Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first off ...

'' dedicated a portion of its episode on the

to how feral goats affected the environment on the islands and how Judas goats were used to help return the islands to nature. This technique is now used to target other invasive species, such as

camels in Australia Australian feral camels are feral populations of dromedaries (''Camelus dromedarius'') in Australia. Imported from British India and Afghanistan during the 19th century for transport and construction during the colonisation of the central an ...

, pigs in America, rats in Mexico and

raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...

s in Europe.

Popular culture

A Judas goat appears in the 1959 film

Compulsion Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...

. A reference to a Judas goat was included in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' original series season 2 Episode 9 "

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

". In the ''Cannon'' episode "Vengeance", the ex-wife of the hunted main character tries to refuse a mafia killer's attempt to use her as a "Judas goat" to lure her ex to his death. The main character of

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship ...

's novel''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

'' refers to herself as a Judas goat. A reference to a Judas goat is included in the television series ''The Exorcist'' Season 1 Episode 9 "Chapter Nine: 162". In

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

's '' Feet of Clay'' there is a satirical version called a yudasgoat. Judas Goat was the title of Gabrielle Bates' 2023 poetry collection, published by Tin House Books.

References

{{reflist, 2 Goats Judas Iscariot Herding

Project Isabela in the Galàpagos Islands

Goats tracking feral goats

Popular culture

See also

References