Sudanese goat marriage incident

2008-08-08T20:37:52Z

64.122.245.115: /* Death */

'''Rose''' was a [[goat]] from the Hai Malakal suburb of [[Juba]], the capital of the [[Sudan|Sudanese]] region of [[South Sudan]], who became an internet phenomenon<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1550479/%27Man-marries-goat%27-captivates-millions.html|title='Man marries goat' captivates millions|date=04/05/2007|publisher=Daily Telegraph}}</ref> when a local man was caught by the goat's owner [[Human-goat sexual intercourse|having sex with the goat]]. The owner subdued the perpetrator and asked village elders to come over. One elder noted that he and the other elders found the perpetrator, tied up by the owner, at the door of the goat shed.<ref name=Juba2007>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article21720 "Goat, married to man, dies after having first kid in South Sudan"] by Mogga Mark, ''[[Juba Post]]'', 5 May 2007 (hosted by ''[[Sudan Tribune]]''), accessed 2008-06-01</ref> The goat's owner reported that, "They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife." The perpetrator was thus ordered to '[[human-animal marriage|marry]]' the goat, pay the cost of the goat and pay a 15,000-dinar [[dowry]] (roughly US$75), with half of the dowry up front.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4748292.stm "Sudanese man forced to marry goat"], ''[[BBC News]]'', 24 February 2006, accessed 2008-06-01</ref><ref name=Juba2006>[http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article14249 "Man forced to marry goat in southern Sudan"], ''Juba Post'', 25 February 2006 (hosted by ''Sudan Tribune''), accessed 2008-06-01</ref>

The goat apparently acquired the name "Rose" during the elders' deliberations as part of a joke.<ref name=Juba2007/>

The story, first published on [[24 February]] [[2006]] on the BBC website, attracted massive attention and was republished on numerous newspapers, blogs and other websites.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/09/just_kidding.html Just Kidding], by Adam Curtis, ''BBC News'', 18 September 2006, accessed 2008-06-01</ref> Even a year after publication, the story was consistently among the BBC's 10 most emailed articles, with many visitors to the BBC news site finding the tale amusing and passing it onto friends. The story received over 100,000 hits on five successive days long after its original publication, and was read by millions of people. The BBC, astonished at this popularity, wondered if there was a campaign to keep the tale at the top of its rankings; however, an investigation by its senior software engineer, Gareth Owen, determined that the demand was genuine.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2063975,00.html The goat news story that just won't die] by James Silver, ''The Guardian'', 24 April 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref>

==Death==

On [[May 3]] [[2007]] it was reported that the goat had died, having choked on a plastic bag.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6619983.stm Sudan's famous goat 'wife' dies], ''BBC News'', 3 May 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref> The goat was survived by a four-month old male kid, who was not fathered by the goat's husband.<ref name=Juba2007/> The BBC honoured the animal with a mock obituary.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6623895.stm R.I.P Sudan's married goat], ''BBC News'', 4 May 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref> The death was also reported in many other news outlets, including [[The Times]],<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article1744570.ece Rose the goat ‘wife’ chokes to death on a plastic bag], ''Times Online'', 4 May 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref> the [[Daily Mail]],<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=452655&in_page_id=1770 Man widowed after his goat 'wife' chokes to death], Fred Attewill, ''Daily Mail'', 4 May 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref> and [[Fox News]].<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269918,00.html 'Goat Man' of Sudan Becomes a 'Widower'], ''Fox News'', 3 May 2007, accessed 2008-06-01</ref>

==See also==

*[[Human-animal marriage]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category: 2007 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Human-animal relationships]]
[[Category:Zoosexuality]]
[[Category:Famous goats]]

Zoophilia Wiki - User contributions [en]

Sudanese goat marriage incident