New York parks using goats as chemical-free weed control alternative

Goats, which naturally like weeds such as poison ivy and can eat up to 25 pounds a day, are cleaning up Prospect Park with no negative environmental impact

Overexcited children and reporters mill around the fence enclosing part of the Prospect Park woodlands. "Daddy, daddy, look!" one eager little boy yells. Everyone is craning their necks, raising their cameras to get a shot. The latest celebrities to grace Brooklyn are a group of eight weed-eating goats, and they are taking up residency through the end of the summer.

Later this week, Prospect Park has arranged a wine and cheese reception so the public can formally meet the goats, which range from Nubian to Angora and Pygmy breeds. Tickets have already sold out. While the press photographers jockey for space with toddlers, the goats seem unfazed by the attention, posing for photos or placidly dozing off in sunny spots on the hill.