I WAS reading recently, in the lovely Lancashire Telegraph, that some ingenious farmer from Rossendale somehow found themselves raking in £50,000 from letting people use their goat in Zoom meetings.

It took me a few minutes to comprehend what I was reading when I first saw it, before finding myself sat there, applauding my screen, proud of how a northern farmer managed to make some extra cash through simply putting their goat into a Zoom session.

These endless video calls can get a tad tedious and the sight of a cute face chewing away (I don’t mean Karen from marketing) is seemingly much sought-after.

It got me thinking, what else would people pay for?

Now that everything is pretty much virtual at the moment; family gatherings, work meetings, even dates I’ve heard, it seems like there’s space in the market to get some coin out of our mostly useless (in a monetary sense at least) pets.

Personally, I’ve started training my cat to down a pint of milk in 10 seconds.

I was thinking of asking my neighbour if I could borrow their dog for ‘a walk’, where then I’m actually going to secretly teach it general knowledge so that it can enter into Zoom pub quizzes.

Have a think about what you can get out of your own domesticated friends!

Got a parrot? Why not try and teach it a few new languages?

Could end up getting work as a translator.

Got yourself a cooped up rabbit? Why not enter it into kickboxing competitions? They’ve got quite the thump on them as it is.

Are you also a farmer? Looking enviously at the Rossendale entrepreneurs whilst your talented sheep and cows go to waste? Fret no more.

Set up a TikTok account for Daisy the cow and give these cringey, dancing teenagers a run for their money.

I’d rather watch a cow bop its head to some music than I would a 14-year old make millions off a badly-timed dance trend.

If people are paying to put a goat into a Zoom meeting, then goodness knows what else they’ll pay for.

Tip a can of paint over a blank canvas and say your hamster did it.

I’ve seen worse art by human beings go for eye-watering amounts, now’s your chance!

I must point out, that no animals were harmed in the writing of this article.

In fact, I’m also acutely aware cow’s milk isn’t even good for cats.

And to be honest, if I tried to get my cat to do anything, it would look at me as it always does; like I’m utterly, completely stupid.

After writing this, I think I’m starting to agree.