How a group of goats are transforming lives of young people in Harehills

But not Callum, he's up early, feeding, caring and cleaning up after a group of eight goats he helped to bring to CATCH, a youth project in Harehills, Leeds - one of Yorkshire’s most deprived areas.

The goats have had a transformative effect on the 30 youngsters who dedicate countless hours to looking after them, learning animal welfare skills, compassion, teamwork and responsibility - and it is all down to them.

They came up with the idea, researched it, and are now solely in charge of goats Jack, Shera, Billy, Bambi, Oreo, Hercules, Yoda and Boris.

Working as part of a team is one of the highlights for Callum, while also gaining valuable work experience.

“It has introduced me to what work would be like,” he said. “It’s really good to have.”

For Marius Mihai, 14, who is originally from Romania, and whose grandmother has a farm, it has been the opportunity to work directly with the animals that has been best for him,

“Sometimes it’s hard to have confidence around animals, but this has really helped,” he said.

For 16-year-old Patrick Hudi, who has been involved with CATCH for three years, the valuable skills learnt while working on the project have inspired him to study youth work at university.

He said: “Being here, and having that good vibe, it gives you something to do rather than being stuck at home. It’s also good for the future as it teaches so many new skills, like responsibility.”

In the past, CATCH’s projects have included building a gym out of shipping containers, but the idea of bringing animals into their base came entirely from the young people.

While researching goats, the young people visited Askham Bryan College in North Yorkshire, Meanwood Valley Farm in Leeds and other farms to get a real taste for what caring for the animals would be like.

Jacqui Driscoll, who leads the educational farm project at CATCH as well as being head of business, said: “The kids were amazing. If the young people have an idea, we want them to know that we will be here for them. But the level of research was so in-depth. They looked into everything involved, and even knew what breeds to go for.”

They designed the goats’ shelter, helped to source materials, and constructed the area, with support coming from Wickes in Roundhay, who gave £1,000 worth of goods, Morley Glass, Balfour Beatty, White Rose Electrical, and West Point Farm Vets in York, who help with animal welfare, health checks, vaccinations and volunteer training.

The goats arrived on site at the end of last summer, and the young people have been as committed as ever through the winter, and through the lockdown.

Ms Driscoll said: “At the start, a lot of the young people were a little worried about going into the goat pen, but one by one, they got more comfortable and now run on a rota of different teams seeing to the goats throughout the day and at weekends.

“The proof was really in the pudding in winter, when their enthusiasm did not wear off, and they were there all the time, looking after the goats.”

For the first few weeks of lockdown, the adults took over, but CATCH found more and more that the young people were desperate to get back, so a “stay safe” rota was devised to ensure social distancing.

Ms Driscoll added: “For a lot of the kids in this area, they don’t have the chance to look after an animal.

“Getting involved in a project like this - it’s not a big leap for them to think ‘I could have a career in this’. We’ve got kids who said all along that they’d never touch the goats, but now they are sat with them on their knees.”

PC Ash Razzaq, who founded CATCH in 2010, added: “This has very much been a youth-led project. “Some of the young people involved come from vulnerable background, have had issues in their lives or have gone down the wrong track but now they are totally involved.

“When the goats were delivered the breeders were gobsmacked at the pen they had created - saying it was like a five star hotel.”