Thematic conference “Livestock protection for cattle and horses”

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The presentations will be made available as PDFs and recordings shortly.

Both LIFEstockProtect conference days were filled with diverse presentations by researchers, organisations and individual livestock farmers. The latter in particular should have their say in this conference format and report on their everyday experiences of pasture animal husbandry and herd protection. The presentation formats were as varied as their content, which provided a stimulating programme filled with interviews, discussion rounds, presentations and short videos.

250 participants registered for the 2 day online conference and participated depending on their availability regarding daily farming activities. In addition, over 1000 people watched the livestream on Facebook. As much as the organisers regretted the switch to an online conference, this format made it possible for participants to listen in for specific topics, and it was very well received.

Martin Hermle led participants through the conference as moderator, supported by Gwen Manek, Christoph Schinagl, Victoria Steckhan, Katharina Mikschl and Stefanie Morbach, as well as an excellent team for the simultaneous translation in German, English und Italian.

Conference Day 1 – livestock protection in cattle and horse husbandry

The actress Barbara Geiger introduced the day in a theatrical way, yet peppered with scientific knowledge about cattle.
Otto Gasselich delivered greetings from the main project partner and applicant Bio Austria Niederösterreich/Wien.

Richard Mergner from BUND Naturschutz in Bavaria and Oliver Allettsee from Bioland Bavaria stressed the purpose and thoughts about the project: continuing to promote livestock grazing, thereby preserving wild species and their habitats, and strengthening the cooperation of conservation and agriculture, tackling concerns and requirements together. An overview of the project and consortium within the regions of Bavaria, Austria and Italy followed.

livestock protection in cattle farming

Siegfried Steinberger from the Bavarian State Office for the Environment gave a good overview of cattle farming in Bavaria and its development, particularly with regard to the importance of grazing. Dr. Igor Khorozyan, a former employee of the University of Göttingen and now a freelance consultant for mammal science and species conservation, reported on the effectiveness of livestock protection for cattle against wolves with his study. For assessment, an online tool was developed.

Norbert Böhmer, dairy farmer and self-marketer from Upper Franconia, gave an insight into his daily working schedule in an interview with Martin Hermle. Together with Julian Stöger from a dairy farm in Allgäu, Tobias Windmaißer from a cattle ranch in Lower Bavaria, he talked about his work in the following discussion round. The herd protection measures and methods are structured differently. The farmers discussed their own experiences and implementations, challenges and limitations at livestock protection.

livestock protection in horse husbandry

As a horse owner and representative of the Union of Amateur Riders Germany (Bavaria), Sabrina Ostfalk from the Oberfranken stable provided an overview of the different horse keeping approaches in Bavaria. With regards to the presence of wolves, Ostfalk brought a few points into consideration, with a smooth transition to the next presenter.

Prof. Konstanze Krüger from the Nürtingen-Geislingen University, discussed the behaviour of horses in the presence of wolves. She illuminated the behaviour as well as the dangers for wild horses. The most effective protective measures were found to be stabling during the night, repellent fences and the use of livestock guarding dogs.

Verena Elscher from the Heide Trail Dolle gave a direct insight into stables located in a wolf area. Together with her husband, she runs a stable in Saxony-Anhalt. 20 horses and their foals live there. In the neighbouring military training area, two wolf packs with seven adults and nine cubs were documented in the monitoring year 2020/21. The pastures on the farm are secured as best as possible by electric fences in accordance with herd protection regulations. No depredations were recorded.

Sonja Schütz from VFD Bundesverband presented the “Horse and Wolf Project”, which many organisations and institutions have joined under Euro Large Carnivore. Ms. Schütz summarised the ponies, foals and horses that were officially documented as killed or injured by wolves up to 2020/21 in Germany. Large herds, with mixed ages while grazing, special protection of foals (no foaling on pastures without protection measures) and a good electric fence are effective measures to protect horses from depredations. During wolf encounters, it is recommended to not ride away, but to calmly ride past. For horses, the encounter is similar to that with a stray dog.

Following the afternoon’s insights with a focus on “livestock protection and horse keeping”, there was further input in the discussion group, which was joined by the speakers and horse breeder Nicole Votz from Cheimgau. She has been keeping Tinkers and Mini Shetties in her breeding group Livestock guarding dogs for 10 years. She explicitly referred to the challenges with integration as well as raising and socialisation, but reported that she wants to continue working with the horses and doesn’t want to do without them.

The day livestock protection in horse and cattle farming came to a wonderful conclusion with a presentation by Simone Angelucci from the Majella National Park in Abruzzo. Ten packs of wolves live here, while sheep and goats graze freely, accompanied by shepherds, dogs and mostly Livestock guarding dogs. Depredations cannot be completely prevented, but the protection measures make pastoral grazing possible.

Day 2 – Challenges at livestock protection, promotion and measures

Herd protection promotion

Katrina Marsden, adelphi, provided information on the EU platform for the coexistence of humans and large carnivores and the complex area of livestock protection funding, funds and opportunities from the EU (CAP/Common Agricultural Policy).livestock protection Funding can be accessed from Pillar 2 for co-financing. Grazing premiums, material, herding, use of dogs (purchase and running costs), technical assistance can be financed. The individual countries call up the options differently. Innovations for 2023-2027 were presented.

Pascal Grosjean, from the Direction regionale de iálimentation de lágriculture et la foret, followed up with the possibilities of funding, handling and implementation in France and showed an example of the extent to which the funds can be used. He also discussed the wolf population, damage, livestock protection and wolf management. In the future, a database for Livestock guarding dogs is to be compiled in order to be able to work with them in a more targeted manner and the monitoring of wolves is to be improved.

Moderated by Gwen Manek, the discussion round livestock protection started with brief overviews from the regions of South Tyrol, Bavaria and Austria. In the extended discussion round, two experts from the Bavarian Environmental Ministry took part. There was also a lively exchange of views on the different ways of handling call-offs and the provision of herd protection support as a result of questions and participation from the audience.

Herd protection challenges and opportunities

Prof. Markus Röhl (Nürtingen University) gave an insight into the project livestock protection on dykes and steep slopes. In this project, farms with challenging topographies or demands e.g. tourism, were visited and documented. Slopes, relief, soil conditions and also tourist use are challenges in livestock protection. Possible solutions or facilitations were mentioned; in detail, advantages and disadvantages or side effects of herd protection measures and promotion were pointed out.

Dr. Christian Mendel from the State Office for Agriculture in Grub presented the principle of grazing and challenges of such on a mountain pasture in Unterwössen. Many years ago, alpine “Steinschaf” breeders came together to properly raise young rams and thereby improve the breeding performance criteria.

A short interview with leading shepherd Thomas Schranz (Tyrol) and mountain pasture owner Josef Ortler provided an insight into the challenges of grazing in the Stelvio Pass. They reported on the challenges, preliminary work and impassabilities in preparation and execution. The year went well with few incidents. Following the interview, shepherdess Celia Martinez Aragon, who guards the Stelvio flock, talked about her grazing experience and life as a shepherdess. Even though she does not come from an agricultural background, she has been enthusiastic about this challenge for years, continuing her education and contributing her knowledge of farm animals and dogs.

The chairman of the AG Livestock guarding dogs, Knut Kucznik, presented his work with livestock guarding dogs in Brandenburg in the midst of wolf territories. Livestock guarding dogs are used with different types of grazing animals from chickens to horses, a special, but possible, challenge can be the socialization with cattle. Livestock guarding dogs work well, but good information, training and support for the owners is particularly important.

Mauro Belardi, ELIANTE, talked about the volunteer work in „Pasturs“. Here, volunteers are trained to give their support on farms and pastures for long periods. The prerequisite is that at least one herd protection measure is implemented in livestock farming. The helpers provide support throughout the shepherd’s daily routine. They also help communicate with tourists, and the cooperation of volunteer and shepherd is important to foster mutual understanding.

Oliver Häußler, a student at the Hochschule Weihenstephan/Triesdorf, presented a project on the optimal use of mowing robots with fences. Finally, Dr. Hannes König presented the Federal Centre for Grazing Animals and Wolves, whose tasks and concerns are implemented in a nationwide context livestock protection. Conflicts are to be minimised by cooperation of different parties.

We would like to thank all participating speakers for their informative presentations, their engagement and contribution to the conference.