Judas goat

Common card · No. 231242

A Judas goat is a trained goat used in animal herding. Judas goats are trained to associate with sheep or cattle and lead them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and onto trucks. They have fallen out of use in recent times, but can still be found in various smaller slaughterhouses in some parts of the world, as well as conservation projects. According to veteran U.S. meatpacking executive Greg Dunn, the goat employed during his tenure at the Swift meatpacking plant in Sioux City, Iowa was addicted to nicotine, having been trained with cigarettes—rewards which it consumed whole. Cattle herders may use a Judas steer to serve the same purpose as a Judas goat. Both the term and the technique itself originated from cattle drives in the United States in the 1800s. The term is a reference to Judas Iscariot, an apostle of Jesus Christ who betrayed Jesus...

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