King Puck removed from 50ft structure due to intense heat

Kenneth Fox

King Puck is resting in the shade this afternoon after the goat was taken down from his stand in Killorglin when a local vet decided it was too hot shortly before noon.

It comes after outcry over erecting the wild mountain goat on a high metal stand — circa 50ft — in a heatwave.

A status yellow high-temperature warning is currently in place for Munster, with a nationwide warning coming into place on Friday.

As the Irish Examiner reports, a spokeswoman for the fair this afternoon said the goat was “resting in the shade”.

“He is checked several times a day and this morning the vet decided it was too hot for him,” she said.

The goat is likely to be put back up once it cools, however, that decision will not be taken until later today.

Traditionally at the Puck Fair, the wild goat spends the bulk of the festival on a 50ft stand overlooking the town. The festival takes place each year on August 10th, 11th and 12th.

The puck is looked after by a team of goat catchers, while a local vet monitors the goat’s health, and he is given a full health check before his coronation and being hoisted on the stand. As well as being fed, the goat is inoculated.

Earlier this week, organisers said the goat's cage would be fitted with a cooling system and there is also fresh water in the cage.

Concerns were first raised about the welfare of the puck goat in 2015 when an animal rights organisation said the goat’s capture and confinement was wrong under the provisions of the 2013 Animal Health and Welfare Act.

Aran, the Animal Rights Action Network, said their concerns spanned the range of the festival — the catching of a wild goat, parading it through the town and exposing it to noise and drunken revelry.

The Department of Agriculture said it has no role in either the capture or the display of the animal.