The National Trust ordered the shooting of a herd of goats that it had introduced to an area of rare heathland.

The animals were expected to graze the heath and keep the growth in check but they found more tempting morsels in nearby gardens and on a golf course. Even a 6ft (1.8m) electric fence failed to keep them confined and the trust claims that destroying them was the “only available decision”.

The 18 feral goats were put on National Trust land at Studland, the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, last October. After the scheme was judged to have failed, the trust spent three weeks rounding them up and put 15 in a pen near Corfe Castle. When they escaped again they were shot. The three that had evaded capture are still at large.

Animal welfare campaigners and residents criticised the trust yesterday for failing to find the goats a new home. One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s outrageous that the National Trust can have them shot. It wasn’t their fault they could escape. The National Trust is supposed to be a conservation group.

“They brought those poor animals on to the land and because they didn’t build adequate fencing, they shot them.

“The only damage the goats caused when they escaped was biting bark off a couple of apple trees in a lady’s back garden. That is certainly not a reason to kill them.”

Anita Singh, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said: “The slaughter of these goats tops the list for stupidity. Humane long-term plans to manage feral goats, such as clearing rubbish, investing in fencing and providing a suitable habitat to attract them away from human populations, are needed, not bloodshed.”

David Hodd, countryside manager for the National Trust, said that the goats had been killed as a last resort. They had been shot humanely by a veterinary surgeon.

He said that the three remaining goats would be captured and shot unless a home could be found.

Mr Hodd added: “We agreed to take on these animals, which had been destined for the abattoir, to see if we could use them as part of our heathland restoration scheme. Sadly, we have to accept that this grazing experiment has not worked.

“They proved impossible to pen within safe grazing areas. We looked at various locations to rehome the goats but nothing was suitable.

“The problems were with safety as all the locations were too close to the roads, which could be dangerous if they were to escape again. We also couldn’t find an available grazing area that would provide enough feed for the goats. It would have been irresponsible for us to allow them to roam wildly so we made the best decision we could on animal welfare grounds.”

Bob Hitch, of the Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats, in Maidstone, Kent, said that it would take them in and he criticised the National Trust for failing to get in touch. He said: “We are the only registered charity goat sanctuary in the country and they didn’t bother to contact us. They couldn’t even take the time to search for a goat sanctuary on the internet.

“I would have liked to be consulted about these goats before they were shot.”

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: “We understand the National Trust had been trying to find homes for these goats but were unsuccessful. We just hope they did everything they could to find them a home before making the difficult decision to shoot them.”

Fussy eaters

— Kids can mate from as young as six weeks old

— Females can breed from the age of six months

— Only uncastrated male goats smell

— Male and female goats can have beards

— Contrary to common belief, goats are fussy eaters but they will try almost anything once

Source: British Goat Society

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