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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ashifa Kassam in Madrid

Goats and sheep deploy their appetites to save Barcelona from wildfires

A goat grazes at the natural park of Collserola, near Barcelona
A goat grazes at the natural park of Collserola near Barcelona. Photograph: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

Swapping sirens for bells and equipped with voracious appetites, Barcelona’s newest firefighting recruits began delicately picking past hikers and cyclists in the city’s largest public park earlier this year. The four-legged brigade – made up of 290 sheep and goats – had just one task: to munch on as much vegetation as possible.

Their arrival turned Barcelona into one of the latest places to embrace an age-old strategy that’s being revived as officials around the world face off against a rise in extreme wildfires.

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