A much-loved goat at a York attraction has died after being fed human food by a visitor.
Star lived a happy life at the Web Adventure Park on Wigginton Road.
She was knownfor being the cheekiest, friendliest, and greediest goat in the paddock, regularly jumping out of his enclosure to mingle with the customers.
Tragically, Star’s life was cut short, and the team is now pleading with customers to feed animals only the specially provided feed, as anything else can lead to fatal consequences.
On Wednesday morning, animal manager Leonie James found Star lying on the grass, very clearly unwell.
The team immediately rang a vet, who arrived quickly to try and save him. It’s believed that Star had been fed food not suitable for goats.
Sadly, this wasn’t the first time this has happened. Star was a loveable but very greedy goat, and he’d eaten human food from customers twice before.
In both 2023 and 2024 Star became very ill because of this, and underwent intensive veterinary treatment, with his survival uncertain.
Despite clearly displayed signs around the animal area and animal feed available at reception, some visitors continue to ignore the rules and deliberately give the creatures human food.
Others accidentally drop food into the paddocks.
Janice Dunphy, managing director at the Web Adventure Park, told YorkMix: “People often mistake kindness for sharing their food, but it really isn’t a good outcome for many animals.”
The team has witnessed numerous incidents involving visitors feeding animals unsuitable items.
George the pig was seen being fed Doritos, a family was seen feeding sandwiches to the goats, and tragically, a guinea pig had to be put down after ingesting unsafe food thrown into its enclosure.
Human food can be harmful to animals because many of the ingredients are toxic or difficult for animals to digest. In the case of goats, there are several foods that are particularly harmful.
On Tuesday, the vet informed the team that Star was suffering from a toxic reaction. His heart rate had slowed dramatically, and his organs were shutting down.
Janice said, “There was no other option but to put him down, we tried everything. We wanted to operate, but the vet said the damage was irreversable.”
Together, the vet and animal team came to the decision to put Star to sleep. “The decision was by no means an easy one for our animal team, but we always put our animals first to ensure they are in the least amount of pain possible.”
The team rallied around Star in his final hours. Maintenance Manager William-Henry Church created an astroturf bed for him so he could be comfortable, and Leonie James stayed by his side, cradling him for six hours until the final injection.
Janice added, “I never want to see my animal team go through this again. We tried everything we could and made sure he was out of pain, but there was nothing anyone could do to reverse the damage.”
Star’s brother, Blaze, was brought over to say goodbye before Star was taken away.
His passing serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the importance of following strict animal guidelines.
A statement released on social media outlined that anyone caught feeding animals human food will be held responsible, removed from the park and identified via CCTV.
Moving forward, the Web team will now warn each customer not to feed the animals as they enter reception, in the hope that the message will stay with them.
The team also shared how they’ll remember his loveable character, “A lot of you will remember Star for his cheeky personality of jumping fences, chasing your little ones and always being first to the fence for snacks and a cuddle.”
“To us they’re not just petting animals, they’re our babies,” Janice told YorkMix.
