Why giving a goat for Christmas ‘hinders those in … via Poverty News Blog
from The Daily MailBy PAUL SIMSThey are the fashionable Christmas gifts at the centre of a multi-million pound fund-raising campaign aimed at those desperate to help save the world from poverty.But critics now claim that buying a goat, cow or even half a dozen chickens through schemes run by Oxfam, Christian Aid and others is doing more harm than good.Instead of helping impoverished communities in the developing world flourish it is spreading disease, damaging the environment and wiping out vital water supplies.Yesterday, the World Land Trust and Animal Aid said it was simply "madness" to send farm animals to areas where they will add to the problems of drought and desertification.John Burton, director of the trust, said: "I was prepared to put this down to ignorance of the issues last...