Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Guard dogs’ impact on wildlife under scrutiny
A balance needs to be established between the benefits that guardian dogs offer livestock owners and the dogs’ potential impact on non-target wildlife species.
This was according to researchers at the UK’s Nottingham Trent University, following their literature review finding that livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) used in South Africa, its neighbouring countries, and other parts of the world were widely reported to have chased and killed wildlife.
In their December 2020 review paper titled, ‘The ecological effects of livestock guarding dogs on target and non-target wildlife’, Bethany Smith, Richard Yarnell, Antonio Uzal, and Katherine Whitehouse-Tedd said that of the 80 wildlife species reported to have been affected by LGDs, 78% were non-target species.
“The majority of [the species] were small mammals [that] didn’t prey on livestock […], plus a range of large herbivores [… and] birds […]. Dogs could endanger already threatened species,” Smith and WhitehouseTedd said in an article published on The Conversation website.
The paper said that although LGDs, such as the Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd breeds, helped reduce the need for livestock owners to undesirably employ lethal predator management methods such as shooting and poisoning, dedicated studies were still needed to fully quantify LGDs’ direct and indirect impact on wildlife ecology.
“For LGDs to truly facilitate humanpredator coexistence, they need to increase farmer tolerance and reduce lethal control of predators without adversely affecting these predators or other non-target species. By interacting with non-target as well as target species, LGDs [are likely to] incur unintended ecological costs. The wider ecological implications, whether detrimental or beneficial for wildlife, remain unclear,” the paper said.
Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, a South African predation management expert, said that in his extensive work with livestock enterprises that used LGDs, he had found that properly trained and cared-for dogs were most likely to achieve the goal of deterring, and not killing, predators and other wildlife.
“These dogs contribute enormously to livestock safety, and even to game safety in some cases. But where poorly bred and selected, and poorly trained, Anatolian Shepherds have been bought from breeders by livestock owners, these dogs have sometimes even become livestock killers themselves.”
The dogs needed to be considered as a tool to complement other on-farm predator management practices, such as jackal-proof fences, Verdoorn said. – Lloyd Phillips
To protect their vineyards from heavy spring frost, wine farmers in France have been forced to use anti-frost candles (cans of burning paraffin) and burn bales of straw.
The forecast of more cold nights during the second week of April has raised fears of serious damage and loss of production in wine regions such as Chablis, Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Temperatures plunged as low as -5°C in early April, which winemakers fear could damage the already well-developed vine shoots that resulted from earlier mild weather.
Laurent Pinson, a winemaker from Chablis, said he had placed between 300 and 600 anti-frost candles across many of his 14ha of vineyards.
“The harvest is at stake over a few cold nights, and if we have no harvest, that means no sales, and no wine for consumers,” he told Reuters.
Wine farmers were also placing smouldering straw bales in the vineyards to provide a smokescreen that would prevent the early sun from burning frozen shoots; spraying water on the vines so that the ice that formed would protect them from freezing; and installing heaters and wind towers to mix the cold air near the ground with warmer air above, according to Reuters.
A severe cold spell in April 2017 damaged vineyards to such an extent that the French wine output of that year was the lowest in history. – Staff reporter
The opening up of the economy as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are eased is posing both challenges and opportunities for the fresh produce sector.
A webinar presented by the Produce Marketing Agency (PMA) noted that as restaurants were able to accommodate more people, the demand for more produce would rise. This would have a ripple effect on the entire supply chain as production needed to increase again.
Joe Watson, the PMA’s vice-president of membership engagement, said that as the economy reopened, customers were venturing out more, returning to available dine-in experiences.
“While a lot of mandates, particularly about masks, are being lifted, food service operators should keep theirs in place to promote a feeling of safety among customers that will keep them returning,” he said.
Peter Rosenberg, director of operational support at US restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse, said that while the first stages of the pandemic had seen a high demand for comfort food, there was now a rising demand for fresh, healthy food.
“This has meant being flexible with menu items and gearing the kitchen towards executing the changes in demand. We’ll be providing a mixture of what we have historically offered and new, innovative, healthy offerings that we came up with last year.”
With more consumers cooking at home during the lockdown, the prepared meals and cook-at-home meal kit sector received a boost. This was considered to be a continuing trend and producers were advised to gear their businesses towards valued-added produce or produce that had already been peeled and chopped. Sustainable packaging was also important to consumers.
Watson noted that consumers were looking for greater variety in salad offerings and ingredients, as well as innovative ways to use fresh, healthy ingredients.
“The future success of the food service industry lies in adaptability, innovation and a customer-first mentality.” – Lindi Botha