Low-stress livestock handling protects cattle in a five-predator habitat

PeerJ

article

Naomi X. Louchouarn¹  Adrian Treves² 

[1] Nelson Insitute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison;Nelson Institute for Environmental Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

关键词: Carnivores;    Human-Carnivore Coexistence;    Livestock-Carnivore Conflict;    Randomized controlled trials;    Non-lethal methods;    Predator control;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14788

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Given the ecological importance of top predators, societies are turning to non-lethal methods for coexistence. Coexistence is challenging when livestock graze within wild predator habitats. We report a randomized, controlled experiment to evaluate low-stress livestock handling (L-SLH), a form of range riding, to deter grizzly (brown) bears, gray wolves, cougars, black bears, and coyotes in Southwestern Alberta. The treatment condition was supervision by two newly hired and trained range riders and an experienced L-SLH-practicing range rider. This treatment was compared against a baseline pseudo-control condition of the experienced range rider working alone. Cattle experienced zero injuries or deaths in either condition. We infer that inexperienced range riders trained and supervised by an experienced rider did not raise or lower the risk to cattle. Also, predators did not shift to the cattle herds protected by fewer range riders. We found a correlation suggesting grizzly bears avoided herds visited more frequently by range riders practicing L-SLH. More research is required to compare different forms of range riding. However, pending experimental evaluation of other designs, we recommend use of L-SLH. We discuss the cobenefits of this husbandry method.

【 授权许可】

CC BY