Improving coexistence with large carnivores in Europe

Grazing livestock owner Swen Keller explains his herd protection measures to participants and the Minister for the Environment Claudia Dalbert. ©WWF Germany

As part of the Life Project Euro Large Carnivores, WWF Germany invited participants to an excursion on the topic of fence construction and grazing livestock farming in Diebzig. The aim of the event was to give affected grazing livestock owners and politicians an insight into the situation of grazing livestock owners and to present practical solutions to wolf-animal conflicts.

Grazing livestock owner Swen Keller lives and works in the wolf area in Saxony-Anhalt mentioned above. He has been protecting his sheep and cattle from wolf attacks with the help of fences and dogs for years. The group visited one of his pastures on land owned by WWF Germany at the Elbdeich (Elbe dyke) in Lödderitz to look at and discuss the herd protection measures in use.

Around 40 livestock owners and stakeholders from state parliaments, the EU Parliament and the German Bundestag discussed perspectives on wolves and livestock farming in the Central European cultural landscape and current herd protection challenges and solutions were explained. The event was held under the patronage of Saxony-Anhalt's Minister for the Environment, Prof. Dr. Claudia Dalbert.

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LIFE EuroLargeCarnivores is happy to announce a new issue of the Carnivore Damage Prevention newsletter which is partly funded by the project for the next two years.

Carnivore Damage Prevention News (CDPNews) is a professional newsletter focused on the complex challenges presented by the coexistence of large carnivores and human activities. It acts as a forum to raise awareness of practical solutions, to facilitate collaboration among researchers, policy makers, agricultural consultants, hunters and farmers and to improve knowledge exchange between countries as well as across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. CDPnews aims to con-tribute to the application of evidence-based knowledge which can be used for the benefit of livestock farmers and to inform wildlife management policy.

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From January 21-23th 2020 the LIFE Project EuroLargeCarnivores together with AGRIDEA (Swiss Association for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas), the Bundesverband Berufsschäfer e.V., the EU PLATFORM ON COEXISTENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LARGE CARNIVORES and the European Landowners Organization invited to an international conference on livestock protection in the Alpine region at the Heffterhof in Salzburg.

More than 200 participants used this platform to exchange perspectives with a wide range of experts and practitioners from Austria and abroad. Around 40 speakers from the USA and Europe presented solutions for coexistence with wolves. Showcase projects in livestock protection informed about funding opportunities and the practical implementation of conflict mitigation measures such as electric fences and livestock guarding dogs.

For further information please email us at info@eurolargecarnivores.eu

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28 November 2019

From 25 to 28 November specialists from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, as well as Italy and Austria, met in Coltes in the Romanian Carpathians to start a scientific exchange about large carnivore monitoring. The international workshop was organized by WWF Romania and the Carpathian Convention Secretariat with the aim to set ground for a coherent and standardized monitoring system in the Carpathian region. The meeting was facilitated by LIFE EuroLargeCarnivores as one of the core actions within the project with the idea to identify and promote best-practices and encourage the development of joint monitoring plans on population level.

The 35 experts presented case studies and best practices in monitoring bear, wolf and lynx populations in their countries. These set the stage for a fruitful discussion about the best approach for monitoring methods and activities on the national and the regional level. "We want to harmonize the monitoring system, which is a complex issue starting from the definition of monitoring. How to deal with all that data produced with different methods, how to interpret that data? Who is responsible for the monitoring, public institutions or NGOs? Who will finance it? We need stability in financing and methodology. Hopefully we will be able to make some progress" , stated Bożena Haczek, from the Ministry of Climate in Poland. The participants agreed to properly address the raised questions in the next years and to establish a system that is capable to provide reliable scientific data about the distribution, population trends, connectivity and challenges for the species. A final report will compile results and recommendations from at least three regions of Europe with large populations of bears, wolves or lynx.

The participants also generated and discussed innovative ideas for two likewise important topics - ecological connectivity and transboundary cooperation to fight illegal killings. These issues will also be key points of an “Action Plan on Large Carnivores Conservation in the Carpathians”, a strategic document set up by the Carpathian Convention Secretariat and its Working Group on Biodiversity due to be adapted in October 2020 at COP6 in Poland. All three topics – monitoring, transboundary cooperation and fighting illegal killings – are steps towards coexistence and the implementation of the developed methods will be part of this LIFE project in the next years.

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The paths of large carnivores do not respect national borders. It is therefore even more important, that people from the affected regions and from different European nations meet and exchange views. When the wilderness enters livestock areas, action must be taken. But which have proven themselves? Are there any new insights? We are inviting to an international conference on "Protection of Livestock from Large Carnivores - Focus on Wolves" in Salzburg this coming January. It is intended to be a forum for the knowledge and experience of a wide variety of stakeholders. Find out more.

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