Local woman fighting to save pet goats state says must be put down

TEWKSBURY, Mass. — Valmaria Maldonado is worried sick her three pet goats will be put down by the state. And she asks a difficult question for any pet owner

“This means a lot to me… would you kill your cat or dog?” Maldonado said. “I got them two-to-three weeks old. Still with their umbilical cords, and they’ve never stepped foot in slaughtering chain property.”

The slaughtering designation is important Maldonado said because it means they were never meant to be part of the food chain. Maldonado said her boyfriend bought them off of a truck six months ago. Where they came from isn’t quite clear.

At first, she kept the three goats, named George Washington, Republican and Democrat in her Lowell apartment raising them like her own kids.

“We bottle-fed them every three hours like a real baby. We had diapers on them, and they slept with us and then they started maturing,” Maldonado said.

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Once they got bigger, they were taken to Oliveira’s Farm in Tewksbury where some of the animals - a rooster, cows, chickens, a horse and now goats - are part of a long tradition for locals.

“We’ve been doing therapy with these animals for the last four months right here on the farm,” she said.

Maldonado even started a business to label the goats as service animals.

“Why can’t we do this as service goats? What is given to me, I want to give it back,” she said.

The only problem is the state said, since it’s unknown if the goats are from out of state, they’re a threat to other livestock and could possibly spread disease. So, they must be slaughtered. Maldonado said she’s taken them to the vet and gotten them shots. But so far, the state won’t budge. Maldonado said it’s not over; she won’t stop trying to save her goats.

“Well, that’s the fight and that’s what the fight is about. I’m going keep on fighting even if I have to go to court,” she said.

An EEA spokesperson gave the following statement to Boston 25 News regarding the situation:

“The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is coordinating with its federal partners at the United States Department of Agriculture to resolve this situation in accordance with federal law and in a manner that ensures the integrity of Massachusetts food system and protects public health. The USDA is conducting its own trace back on the goats’ origins to confirm MDAR’s findings before making a final decision on the matter in the coming days,” said Craig Gilvarg, the EEA spokesperson.

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