How beneficial is the presence of an animal in human life? We are not only talking about our home, but in general, even in the workplace, or in the structures that people are more in need of companionship.

In Japan they took it one step further … A big wave has begun and spreading to its country Far Eastern. More and more companies, as well as welfare structures, have included … goats in their program to make workers’ mood in the first case or food in the second case.

As arguments they present the following: The goatswith their friendly nature, they have a spiritual therapeutic effect on humans. Research, in fact, reinforce the theory of … goat and the resonance of the presence of that animal in humans.

At the end of February, on a lawn next to a building near Jr Totsuka Station in Yokohama, a 78 -year -old resident of the area feeds two goats held by the coffeeowner Taizo katayama56 years old while chatting. “Goats have a healing force,” the man told Katiama smiling.

The goats are sisters, 8 and 7 years old and weigh 90 kg. Katiama began to keep animals as pets about eight years ago to teach children in the area the importance of life. “I noticed that everyone was smiling when the animals saw,” he said.

Today, the people who meet goats on their walks look happy and say, “Look! There are goats,” Katayama said. Children in the area also come to feed them.

Katayama said: “The relaxed appearance of these animals makes people feel easy to do well with them. Also, as we do not know what they think, we can imagine what we want. Of course they attract people this way. “

Some companies already have their own goats. OR Di-nikko Engineering CO., Manufacturer of electronic components in Nikko, in Tochigi province, has observed the spiritual therapeutic effect of the kids and maintains two from 2023 as part of the prosperity programs of its employees. The goats are quite popular among the workers who have taken care of them. “The goats started coming closer to me after I was responsible for them,” one of the workers said. “They are more adorable than I expected,” he said.

A welfare facility in Konosu, in Saitama province, also maintains a goat from 2021. The goat was initially held to eat the weeds around the plants, but now it has become a mascot. When the goat sometimes takes a stroll around the building, older users of the installation caress it and talk to it. “Some older people used to keep a goat, so it makes the goats accessible,” the director of the installation said.

He also says that some neighbors are coming to visit the goat, which helps to strengthen the links between the Welfare Service and the local community.

Reduction of stress

Aichi Yagi Nojo, a farm in Mihama, in Aichi province, conducting educational activities using goats, conducted a survey in 2020 to find out how goats could reduce stress in humans.

The levels of stress of the survey subjects were measured on the basis of changes in Amylase content, which is higher under pressure, in saliva before and after seeing and interacting with goats. It was found that their amylase levels decreased by 70% to 80%.

“Goats are herbivores and they look kind, so they make people want to protect them,” the farm spokesman said. “Some people see themselves in the goats when they watch them continue to eat and then renew their determination to do their best. I think goats have a spiritual therapeutic effect. “

Sometimes goats have been used to prevent damage caused by wild boars.

The Municipal Government of Hyogo, in the Hyogo province, tried five locations in the city for the 2023 and 2024 period to prove that wild boars, which have sensitive smell, stay away from places where goats smell.

As the wild boars stopped coming to some places where goats were kept, the city decided that keeping kids was effective to some extent. The city plans to talk about the positive effect on farmers suffering from damage caused by wildlife.

Easy to handle, safe

The goats are already known to the elderly and is a new animal for children, says Naoko Koda, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia and Technology in Tokyo, who has conducted a research on goats kept in schools, explaining the popularity of the kids.

“Goats make people feel safe as they keep reasonable distances and are relatively easy to handle,” Koda said. Koda added: “Their maintenance can create links with the local community. I think it’s another attractive element. “

The number of domestic goats has been increasing in recent years. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries shows that the number culminated in 670,000 in 1957 and then fell to the level of 10,000 in the 2000s. The number began to grow again around 2014 and has exceeded 30,000 from 2020, although the numbers are not strictly comparable to the registrar in 2011.

Although goats are considered easy to maintain, there are certain requirements and precautions for the maintenance of the animal. For even a goat, owners are required to alert the local livestock hygiene service center.

Interest in neighbors is also essential for not being disturbed by the smell of feces or crying of the animal. Having a goat also requires an area large enough for exercise and a clean shed. They eat different weeds, but each goat has its own preferences. In winter, when we have no weeds, it is necessary to feed them with dry grass. The goats are relatively resistant to diseases, but a veterinarian should be secured and the availability of home visits should be discussed in advance.