Opportunities and questions at livestock protection in South Tyrol

This post is also available in: Deutsch Italiano

Photo: Klemens Villgrattner

South Tyrol, Summer 2021. Wolf and golden jackal are on the rise. Between May and September, over 170 sheep and goats were depredated nationwide. As in previous years, the atmosphere is tense. This year however, eight mountain pastures began to protect their herds on the summer meadows – with constant shepherding and night pens. Fences and pens were purchased and erected with the support of the specialist departments of the province of Bolzano, and shepherds looked after the grazing livestock on a daily basis. Conclusion: Around 2,500 of the 40,000 sheep and goats herded in South Tyrol were supervised by a shepherd during the summer and, with a few exceptions, were protected from wolf attacks.

Although this sounds promising, it must be critically considered. At the Shepherd’s Day in Salern (we have here reported here), a livestock protection consultant from the Province of Bolzano raised some concerns and questions from mountain pasture managers, livestock farmers and breeders, such as:

Who will pay additional expenses?

Can you even protect small, private mountain pastures?

How do you address the argument of wolf-free mountain pastures?

And provides some facts about the situation in the country: in many places there is a lack of suitable accommodation for herders, or it is in poor condition. Herdsmen are rare, trained herding dogs even more so, and the topic of Livestock guarding dogs is a general no-go.

These matters and open questions are similarly explosive in other alpine regions, including in Austria and Bavaria.

Things are progressing though, and diverse institutions and societies are working on local and international solutions and improvements. In South Tyrol, for example, the Salern agricultural college will be launching a shepherd training program in February 2022 (more information here), which can be completed with official professional recognition. The Livestock protection training with modules on herding and livestock guarding dogs will start next spring as part of LIFEstockProtect. And the South Tyrolean provincial administration will continue to support specific projects at livestock protection.

Apart from these technical problems, the specialist advisor also brings up the biggest challenge: the human factor. “It’s always been done this way”, “It has to stay the way it is” are statements that you come across all too often in discussions about livestock protection. The most work must be done on the different opinions and realities of humans. Having to rethink habits and adapt. This is likely the biggest challenge, which can’t just be solved with technical advice. And it will take time. Highlighting future perspectives matters. This is more important than ever, if we want to protect alpine pastoralism and especially small livestock keeping. The will to adapt mustn’t only come from the farmers themselves, but the frameworks have to also be adapted accordingly. Prevention is better than cure is not a familiar concept to the advisor in Salern. This is sadly often the case. The first cautious steps in the right direction have been taken: livestock protection can not only be a problem, but also a new opportunity. In the next few years this needs to be worked on further. Targeted grazing and supervision with a shepherd improve animal welfare, the quality of the pasture and give one of the oldest professions in the world back its value and the recognition it deserves in view of its commitment to the landscape, animal welfare and the preservation of original forms of farming. The eight mountain pastures can thereby set an example, although this is just a start.

More information about targeted grazing in the LIFEstockProtect project can be found here.

Source: Amt für Bergwirtschaft, Autonome Provinz Bozen; Amt für Jagd und Fischerei, Autonome Provinz Bozen

Stay up to date with our Newsletter!