Amazon Japan Doubles Its Goat Force

Every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the goats are unleashed to graze on about 12,300 square feet of grass and weeds, according to Hatena News. Each goat wears an original employee ID card and, judging from photos, scampers freely across the grounds, playing delightful goat games with their goat friends all day.

The goats’ presence is meant to soothe workers’s spirits. During breaks, employees can visit the goats and ‘be healed if you look at the sight of adult goats and kids weeding together.’

This “eco weeding” program, as they call it, will last from June to November and was introduced, not only to provide more efficient and environmentally-friendly lawn care, but to create a comfortable work environment for Amazon Japan’s human employees. Specifically, the goats’ presence is meant to soothe workers’s spirits. During breaks, employees can visit the goats and “be healed if you look at the sight of adult goats and kids weeding together” – and who wouldn’t?

Of the many cool goat jobs that exist, professional weed-whacker seems to be the most popular, particularly in the tech sector. Back in 2009, Google famously rented its own goat force – about 200 strong – to spend a week grazing at the company’s Mountain View headquarters, herded by a border collie. “It costs us about the same as mowing,” they wrote, “and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.” We at Modern Farmer fully support this new world order: A goat on every lawn to soothe our souls (and stave off a summer-induced heat stroke).