Poison ivy-eating goats moved from New Jersey park in advance of shutdown

SANDY HOOK, N.J. – More than two dozen poison ivy-eating Nubian goats were moved from a national recreation area in New Jersey in advance of the partial government shutdown.

Since July, the herd has been devouring a poison ivy infestation that has overtaken Fort Hancock. The Sandy Hook mortar battery defended New York Harbor during World War II.

Owner Larry Cihanek tells the Asbury Park Press  he removed the animals from Sandy Hook and from Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, N.Y., for their own protection because the parks are closed due to the shutdown.

The Sandy Hook Foundation is paying about $12,000 to use the goats to clear the site to make it more accessible to the public.

The animals live on a farm in Rhinebeck, N.Y.