Dozens of goats have mysteriously descended upon a suburban town in Idaho, destroying lawns and chewing rose bushes to shreds.

It was a scene of chaos and confusion: nearly 100 goats on a street in West Boise, Idaho on early Friday morning, calmly walking from one house to the next as they ate foliage and plants.

Joe Parris, a local reporter for KTVB, described the situation in front of a front yard flocked by goats for the morning news: "This is just a bunch of goats that showed up in this neighbourhood here this morning … no one is exactly sure where they came from."

"They're just going yard to yard, eating everyone’s front lawn," he wrote on Twitter.

West Boise animal control, which did not respond to enquiries, arrived to the scene with just one truck before heading back for more resources.

The Boise police department appeared to be aware of the situation but did not respond to requests for comment. "Are you calling about the goats?" An officer asked when a reporter for The Independent contacted the department. Officers were not immediately available to provide details on the matter.

By Friday afternoon, explanations surrounding the mysterious goats began to emerge. "The goats were originally brought to the neighbourhood as part of a 'rent a goat' service, an eco-friendly way to tackle weeds and pasture," a representative for the Idaho Humane Society told The Independent in a statement. "The goats had reportedly broke out of the pasture and began exploring the surrounding neighbours yards."

The owner of the goats was not cited and the neighbours "seemed to appreciate the humour of having a large herd of goats in their yards for a short period of time," the representative added.

However, Mr Parris tweeted that the “party is over” for the goats after a trucked owned by the company We Rent Goats arrived to pick up the animals.

The goats were safely loaded back onto the truck, as children and other spectators looked on.