PROTECTION MEASURES FOR LIVESTOCK IN A CONTEXT OF A GROWING LARGE CARNIVORE POPULATION - The Slovenian example Tomaž Berce
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PROTECTION MEASURES FOR LIVESTOCK IN A CONTEXT
OF A GROWING LARGE CARNIVORE POPULATION
-
The Slovenian example
Tomaž Berce
Firenze, 8 May 2019
Large carnivores in Slovenia • Brown bear • Wolf • Eurasian Lynx • (Golden Jackal)
Protection of human property
• Helping livestock breeders and beekeepers protect their property
• Baseline - Slowolf project, continued in project LIFE DINALP BEAR
• Applied measures: Electric fencing & Livestock guarding dogs
ELECTRIC NETTINGS (170 cm high) MULTI-WIRE LIVESTOCK GUARDING DOGS
ELECTRIC FENCES
Small livestock / mobile beehives Small livestock
Stationary beehives
WORKING WITH FARMERS AND BEEKEEPERS
Region-specific perceptions of protection: ALPINE vs DINARIC REGION
• ALPINE area - specifics:
• Bears (& wolves) absent or very rare for decades
• Preventive measures abandoned / not needed
• Different pasturing / grazing system: free-roaming herds (May-September)
• Remote alpine pastures – difficult to access
• Farmers refuse electric nets, guarding dogs – not feasible (hiking trails, etc.)
• Many small, part-time farms
Map: Skrbinšek et al. 2017 DINALP BEAR Population status report.
LIVESTOCK GUARDING DOGS
LIFE DINALP BEAR project:
• 5 working lines (active guarding dogs)
– 4 breeds: Caucasian shepherd , Tornjak, Karst Shepherd, Sharplaninac
• Distribute 20 pups to livestock breeders
(+12 in Slowolf project)
• Regular visits and contacts with new owners
- Breeders as advisors – experience, knowledge
- Checking dogs‘ integration in a new environment
ELECTRIC FENCES
Prevention of damages before 2010
Before 2010, in Slovenia low
electric fences (110 cm)
were subsidized as tool for
prevention...
Prevention of damages before 2010 Common belief: „Nothing can be done to reduce wolf and bear damages.“
Project SloWolf – improved protection from 2010 Donation of 170 cm high electric fences.
But… DAMAGES STILL OCCURED!
„… Why? …How?“
No electricity! = barrier inefficient + animals learn how to cross…
Close collaboration with farmers
Most common mistakes
Improper use / setup of fences
Poor / no grounding!
!!!IMPROVEMENTS – on key elements of the electric fencing
Fence fastened on Adequate size and
the ground shape
Shrubs
removed
Voltage min. 5 kV
Effective
Battery
grounding
full
Proper installation, maintenance and electricity!Regular collaboration with farmers and field controls
• Prevention measures are effective, if used correctly
• Regular controls!
• Checking the proper use of equipment
• voltage, maintenance and the setup of fences
• Incorrect use detected – call, advise
• Feed-back from farmers = discussing improvements
• Camera monitoring
• Correct use = good results (no / less damages)
• Positive results – example for other farmers (promotion)Good results have positive „side effects“
Measures adopted into national preventive scheme
Based on good results and practices from the project:
The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning:
• Co-financing (80%) of the purchase of equipment – to farmers/beekeepers
who experienced damages
• SFS damage inspectors – regular controls in the fieldRegular work with farmers and controls
IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH ELECTRIC FENCES
BEFORE AFTER
IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION
YEAR OF Type of protected
Number of users Yearly average of
IMPLEMENTATION property
damages - 3 years Yearly average of
SOURCE
before damages
implementation
2011 Sheep 5 79.314 17.312 SloWolf
2012 Sheep 5 17.868 3.984 SloWolf
Sheep 12 27.680 13.569 LIFE DINALP BEAR, ARSO
2015
Beehive 11 2.507 0 LIFE DINALP BEAR
Sheep 9 3.488 91 LIFE DINALP BEAR, ARSO
2016
Beehive 11 11.823 873 LIFE DINALP BEAR
Sheep 10 3.279 615 LIFE DINALP BEAR, ARSO
2017
Beehive 16 3.961 0 LIFE DINALP BEAR, ARSO
Sheep 17 ARSO
2018 Beehive 20 4.880 0 LIFE DINALP BEAR, ARSO
Orchard, corn field 3 ARSO
TOTAL 119 154.800 36.443
Slowolf, ARSO,
LIFE DINALP BEAR
NUMBER OF USERS 119 YEARLY SAVINGS:
OVERALL DAMAGES REDUCED BY 77%
HIGH EL. FENCES DAMAGES REDUCED BY 85% approx. 120.000 €
NO DAMAGES AFTER IMPLEMENTATION 79%Damages caused by wolves
BEFORE ACTIVE WORK AFTER ACTIVE WORK WITH
WITH FARMERS FARMERS… despite the wolf population increased from 40 to 80 individuals since 2010…
Damages caused by brown bears
BEFORE ACTIVE WORK WITH AFTER ACTIVE WORK WITH
FARMERS FARMERSProtection of human property
Intervention kits
• Slovenia Forest Service regional offices (ready to use)
• For immediate reactions
• For owners who are not able to protect their property when damages occur frequently in
a short period of timeLessons learned
• Co-financing or distribution of el. fences alone does not decrease
the number of damage cases.
• Active work with farmers is needed.
• Regular field controls are obligatory.
• Large carnivores always need to get a strong electric shock when
approaching the electric fence.Website about damage prevention – SAFE GRAZING • www.varna-pasa.si (Google: Safe grazing) • Based on experiences and results obtained in the field • Presentation of effective measures of damage prevention • The procedure when a damage occurs • How to behave in bear areas… • In SLO and ENG language
Looking forward to see this kind of clips… • Vstavi filmčke in fotko s kamero ob ogradi.
Thank you!
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