PREVIEW

Staff have been left devastated after a newly rescued goat named Taco was stolen from a sanctuary in the middle of the night.

The young male goat had only just arrived at the Buttercups Sanctuary in Kent on Friday, after a member of the public reported that no owner had come forward to claim him.

Taco had initially been taken in by a resident in Marden, Kent, who found him loose and wandering the streets.

Ben Ward, head of hoofstock at the sanctuary, said staff discovered the goat was missing on Sunday morning.

After reviewing CCTV footage, four men wearing masks and hoods were seen stealing Taco from the site in Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, shortly before 11pm on Saturday.

“Losing a goat is like someone losing their pet dog, so obviously it’s really heartfelt for us to lose an individual,” said Mr Ward.

Following previous incidents, Buttercups introduced security cameras. However, Mr Ward believes the thieves knew exactly how to avoid being caught on film.

“We’ve had break-ins before, we had our vehicle stolen once upon a time, and I think a trailer as well, but we’ve never had an animal stolen before. This is a first for us,” he said.

“We think they had come the day before perhaps to look around, identified where they’d need to go, because as I said, they were in and out in four minutes.”

Meanwhile, employee Matt Huggins explained that goats taken into the sanctuary are rescues, meaning they are looking for a better life.

“Goats come into our care and they come here expecting sanctuary, so the last thing you’d want to happen to them, so we’re just gutted for Taco,” he said.

“I would be surprised if we saw Taco again, but I will never give up hope,” said Mr Huggins.

“There’s aways a chance he will be rescued again in a few years and he will come back then, so I will never give up hope on Taco.”

When Taco was rescued by the sanctuary, very little was known about him.

“We were initially contacted on Thursday,” Ward explained.

“Someone had taken him into their back garden in Marden temporarily, but 24 hours later nobody came forward so we collected him Friday afternoon.

“We don’t know how he was treated as he was quite a timid character.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing and officers have visited the site.