Mitigating carnivore-livestock conflict in Europe: lessons from Slovakia

Published source details Rigg R., Finďo S., Wechselberger M., Gorman M.L., Sillero-Zubiri C. & Macdonald D.W. (2011) Mitigating carnivore-livestock conflict in Europe: lessons from Slovakia. Oryx, 45, 272-280.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use guardian animals (e.g. dogs, llamas, donkeys) bonded to livestock to deter predators to reduce human-wildlife conflict Action Link

Use guardian animals (e.g. dogs, llamas, donkeys) bonded to livestock to deter predators to reduce human-wildlife conflict

A replicated, site comparison study in 2002 on 58 farms in Solvakia (Rigg et al. 2011) found that farms using livestock-guarding dogs Canis lupus familiaris lost fewer livestock to predation than did farms without dogs. The number of livestock lost to predators (mainly grey wolf Canis lupus) in flocks with livestock-guarding dogs (1.1 sheep/flock) was not significantly different to that in unguarded flocks (3.3 sheep/flock). However, dog placement was prioritised at flocks with previously high predation rates. On farms where predation occurred, fewer livestock were lost in guarded (1.5 sheep/flock) than in unguarded flocks (5.0 sheep/flock). Pups (Slovenský čuvač and Caucasian shepherd dog) were reared alongside livestock. Of 34 pups placed on farms in 2000–2004, seventeen were successfully integrated into livestock flocks during the first full grazing season. Reported losses for 2002 were compared between 13 flocks with successfully integrated 1–2-year-old livestock-guarding dogs and 45 farms in the same regions without dogs.

(Summarised by: Nick Littlewood)