Grazing of domestic animals in forests is prohibited by law in Switzerland. The historical reasons which led to this legislation no longer apply. Nonetheless the regulation persists and is defended by foresters even if they have usually had no practical experience. As part of a demonstration of former land-use practices in an open-air museum in 1998, it was possible to establish a goat pasture in a closed forest. The growth and yield research group of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, together with the vegetation science group, studied how grazing goats affected trees and ground vegetation. The whole forest stand was recorded, i.e. all trees taller than 1.3 m, by measuring their diameters and their coordinates. In addition, the ground vegetation was recorded on sample plots. This survey was carried out before the goats were allowed to enter the forest and repeated twice in the following years. During the pasture season three adult goats and two kids could circulate freely between the forest and the meadow for a restricted time. The result is that goats destroy the regeneration almost completely and alter the herb layer. Goats also damage larger trees, but there was no damage to the dominant trees of the stand.