Rural farm owner pleads for return of stolen baby goat

On a pasture just east of Mankato, Mark Bisch’s farm and petting zoo has been a sanctuary for animal lovers for half a decade.

Goofy Goat Farm in Madison Lake has been open and free to visitors since the pandemic. Over an average summer, about a thousand visitors roam the grounds and feed treats to the farm’s 200 goats, four donkeys, three ponies and three sheep.

But this week, Bisch says at least one of those visitors took advantage of his trusting nature to steal a week-old goat.

In a post on Facebook this week, he asked people to call him with tips, and said if someone returns the kid, there will be no questions asked.

“That was our big concern, getting it back alive, but that’s not looking very good now,” Bisch, 63, said Thursday.

Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, as the last of the day’s visitors were leaving, the farm’s caretaker saw something unusual, Bisch said.

A woman and man, carrying one of the animals, allegedly walked briskly out the gates, then got into their white Chevrolet Trailblazer and sped away, Bisch said.

The next morning, Bisch and the caretaker noticed the newborn had gone missing. The stolen female, one of only four or five on the farm with blue eyes, was also one of the most valuable, worth around $450.

Bisch suspects the theft was no random act of fancy.

“Blue eyes are very sought-after in the goat world,” he said. “That part of it makes me believe that they knew what they were doing.”

Bisch says he didn’t want to call the police and doesn’t want anybody arrested. At this point, he just hopes the people who have his kid know how to care for it.

He has a message for whoever has his goat: feed her six to eight times a day, an ounce or two of milk at a time, and to be careful not to let her eat too much or she will die.

Goats are very social animals, he said, so the baby goat, wherever she is, will need some friends. Bisch said the kid’s mother has been calling for her.

One fan of the farm, Angel Elam of Mankato, said she can’t fathom someone stealing a baby goat from someone who’s providing access to his farm for free.

“It’s really messed up that someone would do something like that for such a kind person in the community,” said Elam, 32, who said she goes to the farm with her three children at least 20 times a year.

Bisch said he’s not going to let this incident change how much he trusts his guests. He said his farm doesn’t have a front desk where people have to check in. And the pasture doesn’t have cameras, as the world has enough surveillance, he said.

“I’m not going to let it wreck it for everybody else,” he said.