Society Debate:With all the goats in Rwanda, why are there no goat races?

Let’s eat them after they’ve brought in some cash“There is nothing like a stupid idea” the saying goes; so true that some of the cleverest scientists in history were thought to be dummies in school. Knowingly or unknowingly, we are having a blast in life right now because someone somewhere worked out an idea which was scorned by the rest of society, only to realize its benefits later on.Enter The Goat Race: Goats are known to make the tastiest steaks and brochettes here in Rwanda. I know a couple of people who will not spend three days before crunching a juicy one. A goat farmer in Rwanda will only think of raring goats to feed his family or to be sold off in his butcher shop, and yet, with only just one wild idea, the farmer can still manage to perform the above, and still keep his herd.There are a million reasons why I believe goat races can become phenomenal in Rwanda but I will dwell on just a few. Considering the fact that we look at tourism as one sure sector that can help us develop into a middle income country, goat racing is one of those, if I may say, weird product that I’m quite sure tourists would enjoy. You see, tourists love anything new, anything unique and different from what they have always seen- fore example, although “bird watching” is something some of us would never consider, tourists just love it and will pay crazy monies just to follow birds’ air paths.Let us not dwell on what we desire, but rather what others want and how we can make money from it. Let us think outside the box, imagine further than that just slaughtering the millions of goats in our country. Take a look at the people who live around gorillas in Nyungwe; they must be wondering why people pay to watch these gorillas; little do they know that the road on which they travel was perhaps built by funds got from watching the animals.That also goes for goat races; although we live around goats, get used to them, and even see them running after each other every single day, it doesn’t mean that the whole world is accustomed to such scenery.Let us create the same scene for people who only glimpse goat races in their dreams; and then make them pay for it.I was reading a page on the internet which claims that animal races are tantamount to abuse of animal rights- such a bluff! What is worse than slaughtering a goat just because someone wants to eat its meat or liver? To me, goat racing is just a sport that perhaps the goats themselves would love to do.We are past that! We have to think positively to make as much money as possible. Nothing should stop us as long as we following laws and paying our taxes. When you kill a goat, it’s gone forever, but when you make it race, it stays alive and remains useful- you can actually kill it later and feast on brochette, especially if the goat in this case was a slow racer.Therefore, I’m talking to farmers, business minds and ordinary citizens who think that goats were only created to be roasted; the goat racing idea in Rwanda is virgin territory and the first one to pull it off will have the rights to copyright it and ensure that whoever wants to enter the business first pays to them.Disclaimer: it doesn’t have to be goats. It can be pigs, hens, dogs, cats or even fish. But it must never be cows! Our Rwanda loves cows so much that some of us just don’t want to see them suffer or being used for weird things.