Emily Wanderer: "From Provisions to Pest: Invasive Goats, Care, and Eradication in Mexico "

ABSTRACT: 

Isla Guadalupe, a large island 241 kilometers off the coast of Baja California, is in many ways an out of the way place. And yet, despite (and in fact partially because of) its remoteness, it is an ideal place to examine biodiversity dilemmas. In this talk I track the fate of the island’s herds of goats. These goats were the lively, embodied traces of historical human economic activity and worldviews. Left by whalers in the 1800s, who regarded the island as a desolate wasteland, goats were intended to make the island into a more fruitful refreshment station. Over the years, the goats became an important resource for sailors and then for consumption on the mainland. However, by the 21st century, these animals had been rebranded as pests in need of eradication. Analyzing a project to eradicate invasive goats, I consider the complicated relationships that emerged between humans and animals.…