Integrated livestock predation management pays off for farmers

The number of livestock lost to predation on farms participating in the National Wool Growers’ Association of South Africa and Red Meat Producers’ Organisation’s integrated livestock predation management programme declined 65,9% to 1 133 between 2008 and 2020.

The programme’s success can be ascribed to a combination of research and experimentation, as well as training aimed at empowering farmers and farmworkers with skills and knowledge to deal with problem predators, protect their livestock, and conserve the environment.

This was according to Niel Viljoen, predation specialist at Predation Management South Africa.

Since 2008, a total of 27 farms, stretching across 136 214ha and six provinces, had participated in the programme.

In this way a platform was created where the continuous impact of predation on livestock in different production environments could be measured and monitored. At the same time, new ideas were also developed to create a sustainable livestock industry.

“Through the programme, we’ve so far managed to identify black-backed jackal [ Canis mesomelas] and caracal [ Caracal caracal] as the main problem predators, with lambs up to weaning [age] being the main victims, accounting for up to 87% of losses,” Viljoen said.

It had also been determined that farmers in the programme had invested more funds in technology, such as electric and jackal-proof fencing, deterrents and collars, to prevent predation than they had saved so far.

Viljoen said farmers had invested more than

R15 billion in technology over the past 13 years, but had lost around R12 billion due to predation. This investment had more than doubled over the past year, but he foresaw that it would pay off over time.

It also emerged that there was room for alternative predation and stock management practices, thanks to the diversity of management strategies, both lethal and non-lethal. “We’ve found that the success and outcome of any control method is solely dependent on the management ability of the farmer,” Viljoen said.

He added that having a set programme did not help, as what was successful today might fail tomorrow.

“The consistent adaptability of predators, especially the black-backed jackal, necessitates that farmers [remain] informed. On one of the farms, for instance, black-backed jackal started getting used to the Anatolian guard dogs after many years, and began outnumbering and outsmarting them in the daytime, causing substantial losses,” Viljoen said.

From time to time, predators causing persistent problems may also have to be eliminated as part of the overall management strategy. “Since 2008, the total number of damage-causing predators eliminated on the monitored farms increased from 261 to 578,” he said. – Glenneis Kriel