It's bad enough being chased around a mountain for a few days and then hoisted onto a makeshift gantry as the King Puck, but this year, in Killorglin, Co Kerry, the unfortunate goat to whom the honour will fall will have to be blood tested as well. The test is a foot-and-mouth precaution.
A sigh of relief has gone up in Killorglin, home of what is probably the oldest fair in Ireland, that the Department of Agriculture has allowed the event to go ahead at all this August.
The wild goat will be isolated for three weeks before the fair and then tested again afterwards.
Apart from being held on the traditional high pedestal in the centre of the town, every effort is being made to ensure the animal will have as little contact with other animals as possible.
Although the event traditionally includes a cattle, sheep and horse fair, farmers are being discouraged from bringing cattle this year, and visitors from other farming areas will be asked to steer clear of the horse fair.
The fair means a lot to Killorglin. This year, more than 100,000 visitors are expected in the town over the three days and they are expected to bolster the local economy to the tune of £1.5 million.
The foot-and-mouth scare has already caused serious damage to the tourism season in the south-west and a ban on this year's fair would have been disastrous for the locality.
That people should gather around a goat hoisted on high may seem odd, but the fair has ancient roots and it is more than a craggy billy goat gazing down from aloft and sometimes doing much worse on people.
The event as we know it today can be traced back to the James 1st charter of 1603 which gave legal status to an existing fair, with links, it is suggested, stretching to pagan times and harvest celebrations.
Nowadays, it is a colourful and lively street festival which family groups tend to enjoy by day and revellers by night.
Though tied up for three days on its lofty perch in the centre of the town, the goat probably has less of an endurance test than the hardy ones who stick the fair out to the bitter end.