I hear Boer goats originally sold for astronomically high prices. Why?
It was due a little bit to supply and demand and a little bit to psychology. When a new (to the U.S.) animal species is introduced into this country, especially a species that has commercial potential, often an artificially high “breeder’s” or “exotics” market develops for the animal. This happened with the ostrich and emu, even with the potbellied pig and hedgehog. The Boer goat is a bit different, however. When ostriches were imported into the U.S. there were few if any existing flocks of ostrich. It took years for the breeder’s market to be satisfied. But when the Boer goat was introduced, there were already millions of goats in the United States. With embryo transfer technology and artificial insemination, we have gone from a few dozen Boer goats to thousands of full-blood goats in a couple of years. And people are still importing live goats. The psychology part of an “exotics market”: People think they can make lots of money selling high-priced exotic animals, especially when the
