Californians have been mitigating the danger of worsening wildfires by hiring goats to munch on flammable brush, but the state’s revised labor law risks sending these goats to slaughter.
Goats will eat almost anything, and they can reach awkward spots people and mowers can’t. So municipal governments and homeowners associations have started paying ranchers to let their herds feed on local fields. “Targeted grazing,” as it’s called, is less expensive than paying people, and neighbors like having them.