Mitigating carnivore–livestock conflict in Europe: lessons from Slovakia

Rigg, Robin; Finďo, Slavomír; Wechselberger, Maria; Gorman, M. L.; Sillero‐Zubiri, Claudio; Macdonald, David W.

doi:10.1017/s0030605310000074

Cited by 133 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The authors observed numerous openly disposed carcasses around Sarikamiş area and once in broad daylight wolves could be observed scavenging on a cattle carcass abandoned on the roadside a few kilometres from Sarikamiş village. Since conflicts are likely to be unevenly distributed across the landscape, assessing local conditions of farms and livestock husbandry practices is needed to provide specific mitigation tools (Rigg et al 2011). …”

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confidence: 99%

Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey

et al. 2016

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In this study, we investigated wolf feeding ecology in Kars province, north-eastern Turkey, by analysing 72 scat samples collected in spring 2013. Ongoing camera trap surveys suggest that large wild ungulates are exceptionally rare in the region. On the contrary, livestock is abundant. Accordingly, scats analysis revealed that livestock constituted most of the biomass intake for wolves, although small mammals were the most frequent prey items. Wild ungulates were occasional prey, and although wolves make use of the main village garbage dump as a food source, garbage remains were scarce in scat samples. Wolf dependence on anthropogenic resources, primarily livestock, generates human-wildlife conflicts in the study area. Uncontrolled carcass disposal seems to boost this wolf behaviour. Synanthropy enhances the probability of wolf-human encounters and thus increases the risk of direct persecution, vehicle collisions, and hybridisation with dogs. When livestock is not available, small mammals are an important alternative prey for wolves. This may increase interspecific competition, particularly with lynx, which is also lacking natural prey in the area. Our preliminary results contribute to wolf ecology and conservation in the Anatolian-Caucasian range, where further studies are urgently needed to generate baseline data.

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confidence: 99%

Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey

et al. 2016

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“…In a similar way, increasing lamb body size before release into summer grazing areas could help to reduce losses to wolverines. For brown bear, however, our results suggest that the only way to substantially reduce losses is through a reduction in the predator density, which may be incompatible with national and international conservation legislation, or a change in livestock husbandry towards a system based on fencing and/or shepherding methods that actively protect sheep (Rigg et al 2011). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Not surprisingly, their co-occurrence with livestock in multiuse landscapes leads to losses of livestock, which can have important economic implications for farmers (Ogada et al 2003, Treves et al 2004, Dar et al 2009, Ripple et al 2014. Diverse management strategies have been implemented to mitigate losses, for example through herding, fencing, bringing livestock down from summer pastures earlier than normal, using livestock guarding dogs and translocation or killing of ''problem'' carnivores (Linnell et al 1999, Stahl et al 2001, Ogada et al 2003, Rigg et al 2011. Compensation schemes have also been instigated, to repay farmers for living in a carnivore-used landscape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sheep farming and large carnivores: What are the factors influencing claimed losses?

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Large carnivore populations are recovering in many parts of the world and this generates conflicts with humans, notably in terms of livestock depredation. Governmental programs of mitigation measures and compensation for losses are often implemented to reduce conflicts, but the factors affecting losses are poorly understood. We used 11 years of data on domestic sheep (Ovis aries) claimed, and confirmed, to have been killed by predators in Norway to evaluate how predator density, flock management, and other environmental or habitat-related variables are related to losses. The percentage of animals claimed as lost that was found and confirmed to have been killed by large predators (i.e., the detection rate) was low, especially for sheep claimed as killed by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), wolverine (Gulo gulo) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Still, we generally found that similar factors predicted the number of claims and number of carcasses found across predator species. Predator density was strongly associated with losses, especially for sheep claimed as killed by brown bears (Ursus arctos), lynx and wolverines. Percentage of forest in the pastures, average slaughter weight of the lambs (an indicator of the forage conditions during summer) and vegetation characteristics in the spring also predicted the number of sheep claimed and found killed by lynx, wolverines and eagles. Factors related to losses due to wolves (Canis lupus) were harder to ascertain, possibly because of the severity of mitigation measures (e.g., electric fences) taken to protect sheep in wolf territories, a factor we were not able to include in our large scale analyses. Patrolling of the grazing area and early gathering of sheep in the autumn were not associated with a substantial reduction in losses. However, our dataset was not well suited to evaluate the efficiency of those mitigation strategies. Our findings could help develop new mitigation strategies as alternatives to predator removal where large carnivore conservation is a concern.

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“…Similar to other multipredator systems where felids typically killed fewer livestock than other predators (e.g., Rigg et al 2011, Karanth et al 2012, cougar livestock incidents were the lowest of all carnivores in our study despite an expanding and increasing population (Knopff et al 2014). Although cougars occasionally kill livestock, cougar diet in southwestern Alberta, like many regions of North America, is primarily deer (Anderson and Lindzey 2003, Knopff et al 2009, Bacon et al 2011, Banfield 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Troublemaking carnivores: conflicts with humans in a diverse assemblage of large carnivores

Morehouse¹,

Boyce²

2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Human-wildlife conflicts are a global conservation and management challenge. Multipredator systems present added complexity to the resolution of human-wildlife conflicts because mitigation strategies often are species-specific. Documenting the type and distribution of such conflicts is an important first step toward ensuring that subsequent management and mitigation efforts are appropriately targeted. We reviewed 16 years of records of complaints about two species of strict carnivores, wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor), and two species of omnivores, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and black bears (Ursus americanus) in southwestern Alberta and evaluated the temporal and spatial distribution of these complaints. Conflicts were most frequently associated with bears (68.7% of complaint records), reflecting a diversity of conflict types attributable to their omnivorous diets. Although grizzly bears killed and injured livestock, the majority of conflicts with bears were attributable to attractants (grain and dead livestock for grizzly bears, garbage for black bears). In contrast, wolf and cougar incidents were almost exclusively related to killing or injury of livestock. Complaints for both bear species have increased over the past 16 years while cougar and wolf complaints have remained relatively constant. Grizzly bear and cougar conflicts have been expanding into private lands used for agriculture. Although community driven, targeted mitigation measures have helped reduce conflicts with grizzly bears at the site level, conflicts at the broader scale have continued to increase and continued work is necessary. Long-term human-carnivore coexistence clearly is possible, facilitated by continued monitoring and local efforts to mitigate conflicts.

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Mitigating carnivore–livestock conflict in Europe: lessons from Slovakia

Cited by 133 publications

References 20 publications

Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey

Wolf diet in an agricultural landscape of north-eastern Turkey

Sheep farming and large carnivores: What are the factors influencing claimed losses?

Troublemaking carnivores: conflicts with humans in a diverse assemblage of large carnivores

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