Goat Killers Of Georgia

There's a public health danger and mystery on the Chattahoochee river in the US state of Georgia .....

Chattahoochee River Goat Killings

 .... with some group of people, dumping hundreds of headless goats in to the river from bridges.

The goat carcass dumping has been going on for several years, often near the Six Flags Theme Park and near an I-20 bridge with discoveries of up to 30 carcasses being made. This is something of a disaster for a stretch of river that had been made newly safe for recreation, as the water south of Atlanta is now drastically less polluted than it was decades ago, thanks to clean up efforts.

The hundreds of rotting carcasses have destroyed the tourist authorities efforts to open up tourism on the river, and have even threatened to block up power plant outlets, as the rotting, stinking, carcasses accumulate in particular spots on the river.

But despite people seeing the goat carcasses being tossed in to the river, no one has been caught and there are no certain perpetrators .... the main theory about who is tossing the headless goats into the Chattahoochee river focusses on the Afro-Caribbean religious tradition 'Santería', also known as 'Lukumí' and 'La Regla de Ocha'.

This is a particularly strong theory, as a similar spate of dumping dead goats in to a river occurred in Brooklyn (where again, no one was arrested) .... the reason why this religion is considered to be suspect is that followers are believed to sacrifice the goats to deities such as to Elegguá, an orisha (African Yoruba spirit), who ‘opens the way.’

As more and more of the Mexican cartel drug traffickers are using Santería prayers for protection over the last few years (even though they are likely getting the idea of what to do from the web), with a subsequent growth of goat sacrifices. The cartel traffickers are using a mix of practices, from the aforementioned Santería and Palo Mayombe (another Afro-Caribbean religious tradition), as well as the wholly Latin American practice called Santa Muerte, and there is a general increase in the killings of animals such as chickens and the more problematic goats.

Whether the FBI are actively investigating drug trafficking along I-20 isn't known ..... but it would be a surprise if they weren't, given the apparent connection between drug cartels, animal sacrifices, and goat body dumping.