“A Bnei Brak attraction: For wartime days only, a friendly, cute and vaccinated goat.” That is how a flyer advertising the rental of a young goat in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak begins. The person behind the ad offered to rent out the animal for 50 shekels a day.
The unusual listing sparked laughter on social media, but animal welfare advocates say the post reflects a troubling practice that treats farm animals as entertainment props. In reality, they say, a young goat needs the protection of its mother and herd and should not be passed from one person to another.
Yesh Atid MK Yasmin Sacks Fridman called the phone number listed in the ad to confirm whether the offer was real. “The goat is booked until next Shabbat,” the advertiser told her in the recorded call. “You can rent it for the following Shabbat", adding that she provides food for the goat and it comes with a leash so it can be taken on walks.
“You have to be careful it doesn’t run away,” she said. “If you let go of the leash it could run into the road. It’s better to let it roam in a garden. It’s very friendly and loves to be petted.” She added that the goat “is happy when people take it.”
Sacks Fridman condemned the idea. “It’s terrible that a miserable goat is being rented out as if it were a doll and not a living creature with feelings and needs,” she said. “What exactly will happen when this goat grows up and no longer ‘fits’ in a small apartment in Bnei Brak? Will it be slaughtered? I have contacted the Agriculture Ministry to stop this and rescue the goat.”
The animal was photographed in Bnei Brak during the Purim holiday, tied to a baby stroller being pushed down the street by a woman. Animal welfare activists say such cases are not harmless.
Adit Romano, the co-founder of Freedom Farm Sanctuary, said young animals in particular need protection. She recalled a similar case several years ago involving a goat named Tehila who was abandoned in Jerusalem after being used as part of a Purim costume.
“Today Tehila is a beautiful and magnificent doe, playful and full of life,” Romano said. “She arrived here as a tiny, sick and weak kid. We feared for her life and weren’t sure she would survive, all because someone used her as part of a costume for a Purim party who dressed as Jesus. Once Purim ended he had no use for the goat and abandoned it in Jerusalem’s freezing cold.
“When you treat an animal like a product, you use it and throw it away,” she said. “Tehila was lucky that good people picked her up and contacted Let the Animals Live organization. They brought her to us and we cared for her and rehabilitated her. Animals are not accessories.”
Romano called the idea of renting out a goat “outrageous" as it turns the animal into an object, she said. “They are herd animals that need their herd to feel safe. They need familiar caregivers, a routine and a stable environment. Changing this mindset, that animals exist to serve us, is difficult. Our role is to speak for them and free them from exploitation.”
The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry said the case is under investigation by its enforcement and investigations unit. “Harming or abusing animals is a red line,” the ministry said in a statement. “The ministry acts firmly against violations of the Animal Welfare Law, including cases involving the use of animals in ways that may harm their welfare, such as ‘renting out an animal and transferring it between locations.’”
The ministry added that keeping an animal at home is under the jurisdiction of local municipalities and inquiries should be directed to them.