THE HAGUE- Caretaker State Secretary Raymond Knops feels that the islands should give priority to the problem of roaming goats. Knops made his comments during the deliberations about the Kingdom Budget and more specifically about the three BES-islands. 

“I feel this should be a priority for the islands. These goats eat everything that comes in their way and they only leave plants with thorns alone”. 

It is not the first time that Knops has expressed himself about roaming animals. He did so before during a visit to St. Eustatius, where he expressed the feeling that not enough progress was made with the issue. 

Discussion

While some residents are in agreement with the stance made by the State Secretary, there are also those who feel that roaming goats are a part of the the culture and tradiation of the islands.