Judas goat
Encyclopedia
A Judas goat is a trained goat
used at a slaughterhouse
and in general animal herding. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and onto trucks. They have fallen out of use in recent times, and in fact are now illegal in the European Union
(http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/slaughter/regulation_1099_2009_en.pdf) but can still be found in various smaller slaughterhouses in the rest of the world.
The term is a reference to the biblical
character Judas Iscariot
.
by the 8th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator
crew members. Each bomb group employed a war-weary bomber known as a formation, lead, or assembly ship. These aircraft were brightly painted and decorated with individual psychedelic
colors in stripes, checkers, or polka dots, enabling easy recognition by their flock of bombers to form up from various airbases over England and fly strategic bombing
missions over Europe.
goats that are targeted for eradication
. The Judas goat is outfitted with a transmitter
, painted in red and then released. The goat then finds the remaining herds of feral goats, allowing hunters to exterminate them.
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
used at a slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
and in general animal herding. The Judas goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination. In stockyards, a Judas goat will lead sheep to slaughter, while its own life is spared. Judas goats are also used to lead other animals to specific pens and onto trucks. They have fallen out of use in recent times, and in fact are now illegal in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/slaughter/regulation_1099_2009_en.pdf) but can still be found in various smaller slaughterhouses in the rest of the world.
The term is a reference to the biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
character Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
.
Different meanings
Leader bombers
The phrase was also used in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by the 8th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
crew members. Each bomb group employed a war-weary bomber known as a formation, lead, or assembly ship. These aircraft were brightly painted and decorated with individual psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
colors in stripes, checkers, or polka dots, enabling easy recognition by their flock of bombers to form up from various airbases over England and fly strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
missions over Europe.
Goats tracking feral goats
The phrase has also been used to describe a goat that is used to find feralFeral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
goats that are targeted for eradication
Eradication
Eradication may also refer to:*Genocide, the deliberate, systematic destruction of an ethnic, religious or national group of people*Eradication of infectious diseases, the reduction of the global prevalence of an infectious disease in its human or animal host to zero*Intentional local extinction,...
. The Judas goat is outfitted with a transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
, painted in red and then released. The goat then finds the remaining herds of feral goats, allowing hunters to exterminate them.