On Saba and Sint Eustatius, special municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands, goats have been culled on a large scale since 2023. Once introduced by humans and long a free-roaming presence in everyday island life, the animals are now regarded as an ecological problem. Their grazing contributes to the loss of vegetation, which accelerates erosion and affects the stability of slopes and cliffs. At the same time, their presence is linked to economic damage to agriculture and infrastructure.
On Sint Eustatius, estimates circulate of around 12,000 goats for a population of just over 3,000 inhabitants on an island of 21 square kilometres. On the neighbouring island of Saba, a goat management programme has led to goats becoming scarcely visible in the landscape.
The Dutch government allocated 19 million euros for the restoration and stabilisation of the cliff beneath Fort Oranje on Sint Eustatius. Reducing the goat population is a condition attached to this funding.
This photo series observes how these measures take shape on both islands. The images show goats, traces of management and hunting, interventions in the landscape, and technical efforts to slow erosion and instability. Together, they document how policy, landscape and animal life intersect in everyday reality.