Compensation payments for livestock depradations are a vital tool for the support of livestock owners. Unfortunately, these payments typically take a long time. High bureaucratic expenditures and long waiting times restrict their effectiveness as a tool to help farmers in challenging situations. Now, a new system that has recently been tested and installed in Italy’s Maiella National Park shows that this doesn’t have to be the case: compensation payments will be paid to livestock owners within a 24 hour period! This is how it works:
A farmer reports the loss of a sheep that was supposedly depredated by a wolf. The park’s vet is notified and carries out an autopsy to confirm if a depredation has taken place. The next morning, the livestock owner receives the proposed compensation. On the same day, the park’s veterinary inspection office will complete the administrative process of the direct payment to the farmer. Depending on the availability of a vet and the complexity of the case, the process may take a little longer. However, it is important to note that the system is set up to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and to commpensate farmers as soon as possible.
Please also read: CAP and EPLR financing options for livestock protection
Knowledge exchange between livestock owners
This is an important step to improve the support of livestock owners with the challenges that they face living in the presence of wolves in Maiella National Park. All things considered, livestock protection has been very successful in the region. Wolves were always present in the region, and so farmers are used to living and working among them. An important aspect of achieving similar results in terms of livestock protection in the German-speaking Alpine region is information and knowledge exchange with experienced livestock owners. The LIFEstockProtect project encourages this exchange between livestock owners from different regions. The LIFEstockProtect team has already visited Maiella National Park several times to exchange knowledge and skills with locals. Even Austrian shepherds joined the project team on the last visit. They visited numerous Italian shepherds in order to exchange their experiences. Want to hear more? You can read more about the visit in this article.
