The ecological effects of livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) on target and non-target wildlife

Smith, Brian S.; Yarnell, Richard W.; Uzal, Antonio; Whitehouse‐Tedd, Katherine

doi:10.25225/jvb.20103

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This can have severe effects for pollinators and biodiversity conservation in the Swedish landscapes (Winsa et al, 2017;Rotchés-Ribalta et al, 2018). Interventions to prevent carnivore attacks on sheep may also impact other species, carnivore deterring fences will for instance limit the movements of various medium and large sized wildlife (Woodroffe et al, 2014), and livestock guarding dogs may have a local impact on target and non-target wildlife including mesopredators such as foxes and badgers (Smith et al, 2020). Thus, the landscape of stress could, just like the landscape of fear, imply cascading effects for biodiversity and species richness/abundance on a landscape level.…”

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Landscape of Stress” for Sheep Owners in the Swedish Wolf Region

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Farmers who keep livestock in large carnivore areas are exposed to threat of predation directly impacting on finances and workload as well as the associated psychological stress indirectly impacting on farmers well-being. So far, little is known about such stress responses. The concept of “stress” or “stress reaction” is often used as an undifferentiated umbrella concept for the experience of negative emotional episodes. However, the stress reactions could be divided into cognitive, physiological, and behavioural aspects. This study aimed to develop and apply a theory-based approach to identify stress responses among sheep farmers in the Swedish “wolf-region.” A thematic analysis of interviews conducted with sheep farmers showed ample support for stress responses among the informants in relation to large carnivores and their management, although the interviews were conducted with a different focal topic. The findings support the idea that stress responses could be categorised into cognitive, physiological, and behavioural aspects. This distinction would help to identify and fully understand the cumulative impact of stress from the presence of large carnivores on farmers’ well-being.

show abstract

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Landscape of Stress” for Sheep Owners in the Swedish Wolf Region

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Under certain circumstances, guard animals have been found to harass the livestock they are supposed to protect (Marker et al, 2005). Likewise, some guard animals have come into contact with the wildlife they are trying to deter, resulting in injuries to, and sometimes deaths of, both the guard animals and the wildlife (Smith et al, 2020). When planning such actions, it is therefore vitally important to ensure that risks are minimised through the use of well-trained, suitable-for-the-task guarding animals.…”

Section: Risks To Peoplementioning

confidence: 99%

IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As human-wildlife conflicts become more frequent, serious and widespread worldwide, they are notoriously challenging to resolve, and many efforts to address these conflicts struggle to make progress. These Guidelines provide an essential guide to understanding and resolving human-wildlife conflict. The Guidelines aim to provide foundations and principles for good practice, with clear, practical guidance on how best to tackle conflicts and enable coexistence with wildlife. They have been developed for use by conservation practitioners, community leaders, decision makers, researchers, government officers and others. Focusing on approaches and tools for analysis and decision making, they are not limited to any particular species or region of the world.

show abstract

“…Killing or harming behaviors towards wildlife were not explicitly asked about in interviews and such LGDinteractions were not mentioned by 12 of the 13 LGD-using stakeholders interviewed. These LGD-wildlife interactions are reported in the literature (Smith et al, 2020) and typically considered undesirable from an ecological or conservation perspective. However, from a functional livestock protection perspective, the prevention of depredation by any means (lethal or non-lethal) is regarded as a successful outcome of the LGDs use by farmers.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Successmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stakeholder Perceptions of Success in Human-Carnivore Coexistence Interventions

Lucas¹,

Abell²,

Bremner‐Harrison³

et al. 2022

Front. Conserv. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human-carnivore coexistence (HCC) on agricultural lands affects wildlife and human communities around the world, whereby a lack of HCC is a central concern for conservation and farmer livelihoods alike. For intervention strategies aimed at facilitating HCC to achieve their desired goals it is essential to understand how interventions and their success are perceived by different stakeholders. Using a grounded theory approach, interviews (n=31) were conducted with key stakeholders (commercial livestock farmers, conservationists and protected area managers) involved in HCC scenarios in Limpopo, South Africa. Interviews explored perceptions of successful intervention strategies (aimed at increasing HCC), factors that contribute to perceptions of strategy effectiveness and whether coexistence was a concept that stakeholders considered achievable. The use of grounded theory emphasised the individual nature and previously unexplored facets to HCC experiences. The majority of stakeholders based their measures of success on changes in livestock loss. Concern has been raised over the subjectivity and reliance on recall that this measure involves, potentially reducing its reliability as an indicator of functional effectiveness. However, it was relied on heavily by users of HCC interventions in our study and is therefore likely influential in subsequent behaviour and decision-making regarding the intervention. Nonetheless, perceptions of success were not just shaped by livestock loss but influenced by various social, cultural, economic and political factors emphasising the challenges of defining and achieving HCC goals. Perceptions of coexistence varied; some stakeholders considered farmer-carnivore coexistence to be impossible, but most indicated it was feasible with certain caveats. An important element of inter-stakeholder misunderstanding became apparent, especially regarding the respective perceptions of coexistence and responsibility for its achievement. Without fully understanding these perceptions and their underpinning factors, interventions may be restricted in their capacity to meet the expectations of all interested parties. The study highlights the need to understand and explore the perceptions of all stakeholders when implementing intervention strategies in order to properly define and evaluate the achievement of HCC goals.

show abstract

The ecological effects of livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) on target and non-target wildlife

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 22 publications

References 64 publications

“Landscape of Stress” for Sheep Owners in the Swedish Wolf Region

“Landscape of Stress” for Sheep Owners in the Swedish Wolf Region

IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence

Stakeholder Perceptions of Success in Human-Carnivore Coexistence Interventions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About