For more than two decades the wild goats of Lynton have roamed the nearby valley and become one of the area’s most successful tourist draws.

Although brochures still urge visitors to “come to see our wild goats”, the council has called for drastic action after the animals made inroads into the cemetery and the tended gardens of residents. About 120 goats face a cull under plans by the Lynton and Lynmouth town council to reduce the number of the herd to 30.

Jan Hunt, a founder member of the Friends of the Goats organisation, said that she was horrified at the plans.

Rutting season — when the males instinctively wander off looking for new territories as the females nurse the kids — has forced the expanding goat population into Lynton.

Some local people complained that the goats — part of a grazing programme on the 300-acre Valley of Rocks, a site of special scientific interest — are wandering out of the reservation into gardens, allotments and the cemetery.

A £30,000 grant from Defra, English Nature and the Exmoor National Park Authority to build a fence around the site has been rejected by the council because, its members argue, goats could gain access to the town by the main road.

A cattle grid that would keep goats in the valley has been deemed potentially too noisy. At a meeting on March 31 the town councillors rejected the scheme and passed a motion to reduce the number of goats from 120 to 30.

Geoff Dwyer, the town clerk, said that the council was in discussion with English Nature and other agencies about the best resolution. “Apart from the damage caused to gardens, several graves have been damaged by the goats and it is causing genuine distress to some people,” he said.

Mrs Hunt said that campaigners were astonished that the council had rejected the offer of a £30,000 grant.

“To turn down £30,000 worth of funding that had been agreed shows they are not committed to keeping the goats here,” she said.

“It will be very difficult to shoot 90 goats in the valley — people walk around there and you can’t close off the whole site.”

David Lloyd, from the Exmoor National Park Authority, said: “It is very disappointing that this has been turned down and I find it difficult to understand why.”

A small herd of goats was introduced to the Valley of Rocks about 25 years ago as part of a grazing programme to control the bracken.

Flemming Ulf-Hansen, a conservation officer with English Nature, said that the animals played an important role in controlling bracken in the valley and culling them would be no solution. “The goat numbers will increase again, so the council will be faced with the same problem in the future.”

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