Dear Internet: Goats In Sweaters Are Cuter Than Kittens In Mittens

Dec 8, 2018
Originally published on December 8, 2018 3:39 pm

Here at Goats and Soda, a feel-good goat story makes us smile like little else. So when we came across pictures of "Sweateredgoats" on Instagram, we wanted to know more.

The goat pics turn out to be about more than making people go "awwwwww."


Christy Sommers, who takes the photos, first noticed the cuteness that is clothed goats in 2010, while living in a village in northwestern Bangladesh as a Fulbright scholar studying rural primary education. Now she considers the project as adding "net happiness" to the world and helping to share a little slice of life from parts of the world that Americans don't often get to see.

"It blends my love of cute things with India and this desire that I have for people to understand the rest of the world better," Sommers says.


Sommers says when she asks families why the goats are clothed, they usually tell her it's because they're cold — and look surprised that she's asking something so obvious.

And it turns out to be a good idea.

Jagdip Singh Sohal, assistant professor of microbiology and microbial genomics at Amity University in Jaipur and organizer of the Asian Regional Conference on Goats, confirmed that goats can get cold, especially in areas where they're not sheltered during chilly periods, which may explain why Sommers finds this happening more in poorer areas.

Sohal says that the extra insulation, whether from a sweater, a discarded track suit or a burlap sack, allows the goat to divert more energy to productive purposes, like getting meatier and birthing more kids. "Every practice farmers are doing is to increase production," Sohal says.



"Sometimes these things can really catch fire and raise a lot of money in tiny increments," she says. Beyond the actual donation, these types of campaigns can also build new networks of small donors for an organization that wouldn't have gotten on their radar otherwise, Carlman explains. Goats also sidestep ethical issues, like using images of children that strip them of dignity or that their parents may not have consented to, in an attempt to solicit funds. "This actually seems pretty smart and respectful," Carlman says.

Sommers still ships the calendars out of her mom's house in Des Moines and counts her sister, who handles logistics, as her only paid employee. Three shops in Des Moines sell the calendars, but they're also available here.

Meanwhile, the goat owners aren't that impressed. To them, dressing a goat in a sweater is no big deal. "They generally think I'm crazy," she says.


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