Where are the famous goats of Murrells Inlet now? The real reason they were brought to the island

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At first glance, you might think the goats have returned to Goat Island behind Drunken Jack’s restaurant in Murrells Inlet.

But the goat shapes are fake — metal statues that represent a symbolic gesture for what was once a popular spot for locals and visitors to the MarshWalk.

The goats – often between six and seven in number – have lived on the island from April to November since around 1982.

One of the big events for spectators was the round-up of the goats every year around Thanksgiving to take them to their winter quarters. During this time, restaurant owner Al Hitchcock and volunteers would make “fools” of themselves and chase the goats around the island and through the marshland, Hitchcock said.

He doesn’t know how people found out about the date and time of the raid, but he suspects it was a restaurant employee who leaked the information. About 150 to 200 people came to watch.

However, in October 2022, the situation for the goats changed drastically when they were removed ahead of Hurricane Ian.

During Hurricane Ian, the water on the MarshWalk was chest-deep, Hitchcock said. A photo on Hitchcock’s phone shows only a tiny part of the island, the rest surrounded by water. If the volunteers hadn’t rescued the animals before the storm, “we would have lost the goats,” he said.

“They would have hanged me, run me out of town or put me on social media,” Hitchcock said of the goats’ fans. “I didn’t want any of that.”

In February, Hitchcock made the decision not to return the goats after the island suffered extreme erosion from riptides and hurricanes over the years, leaving the goats with limited space to roam safely, Hitchcock said.

In addition, Hitchcock said that moving the goats on and off the island was stressful for the animals. Since the goats are pets, he was concerned about their safety and welfare.

“If we hunt the goats, it is not safe for us or the goats,” Hitchcock said.

Where are you now?

On a sunny but cool Thursday, the goats of Murrells Inlet roam a large piece of land, eating grass and enjoying the sun.

It’s their winter and now permanent location at the Osprey Marina in the Socastee area. Hitchcock said the marina’s owners have been wonderful enough over the years to allow the goats to live there.

After their permanent removal, the marina’s owners took responsibility for the goats. They seem happy with their location, but Hitchcock said they are also happy to come to the island.

When it was time to load the goats and take them to the island, Hitchcock said the animals that had been there before lined up at the gate because they were eating the restaurant’s leftovers, including items from the salad bar like carrots, lettuce ends and hush puppies.

There were once about six to eight peacocks on the island, too. But one day a hurricane came and blew them away, killing three of them, Hitchcock said.

The rest were rounded up and brought back to the island, but flew away again. They now live behind a boat dock in Murrells Inlet, where there are about a dozen peacocks.

Hitchcock has numerous stories about the goats, including one in which a goat escaped and roamed Murrells Inlet for two months. Another goat escaped, crossed the road, ran into a woman’s garden and ate some of her vegetables. “I had to buy the lady two boxes of collard greens,” Hitchcock said.

Why were they placed on the island?

According to Drunken Jack’s website, the goats were brought to the island to help keep the grass and undergrowth short.

In fact, it was a different type of grass that prompted Hitchcock and another man to bring the animals to the island.

Hitchcock said the goats were a preventative solution after some men started growing marijuana plants on the island. He said Murrells Inlet was a small town in the early 1980s and no one wanted marijuana there. The goats solved the problem by eating the plants.

When asked if the marijuana had any effect on the goats, Hitchcock was unsure and replied, “I don’t know what a high goat looks like.”

Hitchcock understands that people miss the goats. He said not a day goes by when he is not asked, “Where are the goats?”

While the metal goats are just a replacement, Hitchcock wanted people to know that the goats were doing well, so he put up a sign on the side of his restaurant with a photo of the goats on the farm that reads, “We miss you too.”