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Altering Human Behavior

Compensation

Individuals may be able to take advantage of compensation programs. The use of compensation for losses remains controversial. Surveys indicate that although nonlethal methods of predation management are preferred by the general public, government compensation for damages is not (Wagner et al. 1997). Some private organizations have been willing to fund compensation programs and encourage public support where damage due to predation is linked to particularly valued species such as wolves. However, the economic logic of compensation programs is limited because they do not actually address the cause of the problem.

Insurance

Some companies will insure against livestock losses. Problems associated with instituting insurance programs include the need to find and positively identify predator damage, and the need forr agreement on real market value of dead livestock. Insurance programs are most easily instituted when the threat of damage is low, but spatially extensive; however, in most current predator-damage situations, the threat of damage is high on small areas.

Zoning lands

A concept that has recently been examined is the physical separation of predators and livestock by zoning lands for livestock use or predator conservation (Linnell et al. 1996). This concept acknowledges the need for different management goals and priorities in different areas and adapts methods, rules, and recommendations to vary within individual geographic zones.

Herding/vigilance

North American predators tend to be wary of human presence, and a good herder that is able to stay with and monitor livestock can be an effective method of protection (Linnell et al. 1996).

Fencing

Fencing is a physical barrier that will keep human resources and predators apart, and has been studied for centuries (Jardine 1908). Exclusionary devices can be as simple as an easily-strung electric-energized temporary corral, or as complex and expensive as a dingo-proof fence stretching from one side of Australia to the other. Barriers can be extremely expensive to construct and maintain.

Night and seasonal enclosures

Robel et al. (1981) suggested that night penning is effective for minimizing losses to predators. Some producers herd animals back to corrals in the evening. Shed lambing, i.e., keeping ewes inside a shed when they are giving birth to lambs, can reduce losses to predators. Clearly, this technique is most possible in small operations, especially near human habitation; however, this intensive husbandry may require additional labor costs that are prohibitive for larger operations.

Timing of breeding

Predators are often more likely to kill livestock at specific times of year, e.g., coyote-killing of lambs coincides with the need to provision their pups (Till and Knowlton 1983, Bromely and Gese 2001a). If livestock animals are bred earlier in the season, they are larger earlier and may be less vulnerable to predation.

Selective pasturing, lambing, and calving

Certain pastures and range areas may have a record of high predation, i.e, be "hot spots" of predation (Linnell et al. 1996). The area may have cover and prey that attracts predators, or the land may be near a source population of wolves. Coyote predation on livestock tends to be associated with the availability of stalking cover and land features (Pearson and Caroline 1981). Sometimes, it may be possible to not use an area for grazing, and it may be economically advantageous to do so if predation pressures are high.

Altering herd composition

The composition of herds may influence the degree of depredation. For instance, sheep are generally much more vulnerable to predation than cattle (Fritts 1982, Gee 1979). An interesting husbandry practice employs a combined livestock operation. Mixing cattle with sheep (i.e., forming a "flerd") may lead to a better use of the landscape, with the added benefit that cattle may be more aggressive toward small predators (Hulet and Anderson 1991).

Sanitation

Some research suggests that regular carcass removal and sanitation around livestock operations may help to lessen the severity of predation (Robel et al. 1981), while other research is less clear on the benefits of carcass disposal as a method to reduce wolf predation (Mech et al. 2000). As with most nonlethal methods, the degree of effectiveness using carcass removal is mostly unknown.

Link to Altering Predator Behavior