Fainting Goats

An oldie(in terms of internet exposure) but still a goodie.

I've heard people bring up this breed when they try to justify creationism saying these goats prove Darwin is wrong. How could fainting goats survive natural selection?

The answer is easy: we selectivly bred this abnormality just like most livestock.

As strange as this may sound, these little goats have actually served an historical purpose. Shepherds often would keep the goats in with their flocks as insurance in case of predator attacks. The theory went something like this- as wolves would come down from the hills to attack a flock of sheep, the goats would become startled and, as per the name of their breed, they would faint. The sheep would make a clean getaway, as the wolves would focus on the stunned goats rather than pursue the fleeing sheep. Not that wonderful if you were one of the goats, sure, but dandy if you happened to be a sheep.

The breed's recorded history (or at least as much of it as I can find) reaches back to the 1880's, when a migrant worker named John Tinsley brought four of them to Tennessee. Not much is known about Tinsley, though he is reported to have come from Nova Scotia. The breed soon became popular throughout the region, thanks to three major factors: 1) they were less prone to climbing (and therefore escape), 2) they had a higher degree of muscularity than their non-fainting relatives (and thus would make a better dinner), and 3) high reproductive rates (typically two or more to a litter). "

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