Goat Tourism Scam in Morocco: Investigation Reveals Mistreatment for Photo Ops

Paris Match writes on this subject: "The phenomenon has been known for years, attracting thousands of tourists to the arid lands of Essaouira. Perched on their argan tree branches, the perched goats have become the stars of southwestern Morocco, participating - despite themselves - in a vast tourist scam." And it is not the only media talking about it: The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Telegraph... endlessly! The perched goats have driven people crazy.

Behind this crusade, an investigation by a 38-year-old British photographer, Aaron Gekoski, who revealed that these animals are brought up into the trees every day by the farmers and taken back home at night.

Gekoski says: "After noticing the interest of tourists in these goat trees, some opportunistic farmers decided to manipulate the situation for profit." Furthermore, the same photographer declares: "I have heard that they even bring in goats from other regions, that they build platforms in the trees and that they start pampering the animals to attract even more tourists, eager for selfies."

But where it becomes dramatic is when Gekoski talks about the goats themselves, according to him victims of mistreatment: "Staying perched on a tree all day in the full sun is an incredibly difficult task for these goats living in poor conditions." This indeed has to stop...