They continue to be raised in the United States as a heritage curiosity and for their meat, although they are not the most efficient for production.
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Videos of goats that, at the slightest fright or shock, seem struck by an invisible lightning bolt are constantly circulating on Instagram and TikTok. They tense up, freeze, and fall rigidly to the ground, often getting up a few seconds later as if nothing had happened. These scenes belong to the so-called myotonic goats, an American breed whose genetic peculiarity has fascinated both scientists and farmers, and now also social media. But what really happens to these animals? Is it a simple, picturesque trait without consequences, or are we facing another case of domestication that plays with the limits of ethics, as happens with aesthetic extremisms in dogs and cats? Origin of the breed The story of myotonic goats begins in Tennessee in the 1880s, when a farm worker named John Tinsley arrived in the area accompanied by four 'weird' goats, which exhibited this peculiar muscle stiffness when startled. Their owner soon drew attention, as they couldn't jump fences, froze when trying ...