Research indicates that the use of Alpacas – a type of South American camel species – along with protective livestock collars and guard dogs has increased farms' profits by between 56 – 93% as their sheep and other livestock are less targeted.
Research indicates that the use of Alpacas – a type of South American camel species – along with protective livestock collars and guard dogs has increased farms' profits by between 56 – 93% as their sheep and other livestock are less targeted.
Jeannine McManus, the research and field manager at the Landmark Foundation, spoke about this last week Friday at a public lecture at Rhodes University. “These are the remarkable results of non-lethal predator controls on 11 commercial farms (representing 16 000 livestock units) in the Eastern Cape, including Graaff Reinet, Baviaanskloof, Jansenville, Cockscomb and Glenconner, where predators vary from leopard to jackal and caraca,” said McManus.
She added that using Alpacas as a non-lethal form of predator control has been very successful as they are able to scare many predators away and have very strong teeth.
These results show that these methods are not only “biodiversity friendly, but importantly, economically viable management options” she said.
In the last six years they have “saved 35 leopards but have lost 33 leopards in that time to gin-traps, poisons and hunting,” said McManus.
She said her foundation’s efforts are spent on informing and providing farmers about ecologically acceptable and ethical means of reducing conflict between humans and predators. These practices such as using the Alpacas, replace indiscriminate controls such as gin-traps, poisons and hunting dog packs commonly used to eradicate predators on the farmland.
With lethal controls removed these farms become potential corridors between protected areas for species such as leopards, which are not contained by fences, to link to one another genetically. “In essence we promote a change from predator control to livestock protection, which has proven to be better for biodiversity and is more profitable,” said McManus.
The project was initiated in 2004 and addresses the persecution of predators, leopards in particular, by having established a leopard rescue, rehabilitation, release and research program.
