Bigger Dogs for Bigger Predators

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight,
it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Mark Twain

Or maybe it's a little of both. With the help of 19 producers, 21 sheep bands and 65 livestock protection dogs of various breeds, the National Wildlife Research Center's Utah field station, several Wildlife Services state offices and Utah State University will soon begin the final field season of a multi-year, multi-state study. The goal of the study is to determine whether larger European dog breeds, such as Kangals, Karakachans and Cao de Gado Transmontanos, are more effective at protecting livestock from predation than dog breeds currently being used in the United States.

"Unfortunately, many of our current dog breeds are no match for our larger predators, such as wolves and grizzly bears, which are becoming more prevalent," notes NWRC's Utah field station leader Dr. Julie Young. "Finding suitable dog breeds for use as livestock protection dogs against wolves and bears not only helps us safeguard livestock and the livelihoods of ranchers, but also enhances and encourages coexistence between people and large predators."

USU graduate student Daniel Kinka is leading field efforts in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming that monitor the movements of radio-collared LPDs and sheep. He compares the data to information on local predator activities gathered by trail cameras. Because it is difficult to observe an actual LPD-predator encounter, Kinka also observes the dogs' behaviors when exposed to potential threats using a fairly elaborate decoy system.

Preliminary results show all of the dog breeds exhibit high fidelity to their sheep - meaning they do a good job of staying close to their flocks. The dogs also distinguish between wolf and deer decoys with dogs responding aggressively towards the wolf decoys.

Trail cameras and space-use data confirm that LPDs, sheep, wolves and grizzly bears share the same habitat during the grazing season, but more analysis is needed to determine how often overlap and interactions occur.

During the final field season and with more data, researchers hope to determine if certain dog breeds are better at deterring grizzlies versus wolves or if some are more effective in forested, open or fenced environments.

 Source:  ASI Weekly News, 3.4.16

Sheep collar texts shepherds when wolves attack

Swiss biologists are testing a sheep collar wolf-warning device that registers heart rate changes and alerts shepherds to attacks via text message, while simultaneously emitting a repellant.

The envisioned collar is in its preliminary phase, and the heart monitor faculty was recently trialled for the first time outdoors near Les Diablerets ski resort. The research team fit the collars of 12 sheep with heart rate monitors (similar to the devices used by runners) before releasing them into an enclosure with two muzzled Czechoslovakian wolf dogs.

The predators circled the sheep before attempting an attack. Readings from the collar monitors later showed a significant spike in the heart rate of the sheep, from a standard 60 to 80 beats per minute to 225 when the wolf dogs launched their attack.

The team plans on testing the second phase of the collar in autumn 2012. This will include a built-in wolf-repelling device — either a spray or a sound repellant — that will activate when a sheep’s heart rate reaches a certain level. At the same time, the collar will automatically send a text message to the shepherd, alerting the sheep’s keeper to the attack.

Though details of the repellant have not yet been released, the fact that Landry is also the author of a paper entitled Non-lethal techniques for reducing depredation suggests the system will not be a deadly one.The final prototype is due to be tested in Switzerland and neighboring France in 2013, and Norway has also shown interest in the device.

Source:  Wired UK

Predator control threatened

Representative Pete DeFazio (from Oregon) is seeking co-sponsors for a bill he is circulating that would outlaw the manufacturing and possession of Compound 1080. Previous attempts to outlaw the material have failed since it is an animal rights effort masquerading in this bill as national security interest.

Tull Chemical is the only manufacturer of Compound 1080 in the United States, a chemical used in livestock protection collars. According to the company, the amount of 1080 used in this country remains less than one pound per year. Most of the product made is exported to New Zealand and Australia.

Eleven states allow authorized use of the livestock protection collars. Those states are Texas, South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia, Utah, Ohio, Wyoming, Idaho and Pennsylvania.

The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) opposes this legislation as the collar is becoming an increasingly important means of predator control in areas where urbanization restricts most other tools.

Of even more importance, DeFazio's proposal this time also would ban sodium cyanide capsules (M-44) used to control predators in the West. ASI is encouraging sheep producers to contact their representatives and ask them to oppose this legislation.

Source: ASI Weekly, November 16, 2007.