Livestock protection conference: 500+ participants

This post is also available in: Deutsch Italiano

The first multilingual Alpine livestock protection conference took place online on January 26. This conference was the official public launch of the LIFEstockProtect project. In total, almost 500 participants attended the event and many more followed the livestream on our Facebook page. A great success! Simultaneous translation of the German conference into Italian and English allowed people from all over Europe to participate. Four livestock protection experts – farmers from Italy, Austria and Germany – shared their experiences and expertise in the field of livestock protection. The audience was very interested in the content of the conference and asked many questions. At the end of a great day, the LIFEstockProtect team also welcomed 55 journalists in an online press conference.

The speakers: experienced farmers

The LIFEstockProtect project is unique in that it is a project by, for and with agricultural organizations. The participating agricultural organizations, first and foremost BIOAUSTRIA Lower Austria and Vienna as the coordinating beneficiary, are taking the initiative to protect livestock in the German-speaking Alpine region. The first of four livestock protection conferences therefore had a very practical focus. The speakers shared their experiences with livestock protection and provided valuable insights into why and how livestock protection helps to promote coexistence between humans and large carnivores.

René Gomringer from Bavaria, former director of the Sheep Farmers’ Association, told the audience about the challenges of introducing flock protection measures and how this led to his decision to found the Sheep Office. He currently advises Livestock farmer on, among other things, livestock protection. His experience is a valuable contribution to the project. Fabio Boni then shared his experience of working with volunteers toprotect animals as part of the Pasturs project. It was interesting to get an insight into the work of a shepherd in Italy, the challenges involved and the benefits of volunteers.

Finally, sheep farmer Walter Schmiedhofer from Styria in Austria and Shepherd Thomas Schranz from Tyrol shared their views on the livestock protection. Walter has just started implementing conservation measures, while Thomas, on the other hand, has gained experience in different areas, different measures and even with volunteers. Their different insights and coherent opinions on the effectiveness of livestock protection measures rounded off a successful conference.

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Impressive figures and positive feedback

In total, more than 500 people from all over Europe took part in the conference. By live streaming the conference on Facebook, 5200 additional viewers were reached. Naturally, the majority of participants came from Austria, Italy and Germany. However, more than a third came from 26 other countries, including the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Greece, the USA and even Iceland!

In the background, the LIFEstockProtect team answered over 200 questions in writing in German, Italian and English. The questions focused mainly on the practical aspect of livestock protection. The audience asked for advice, additional information on livestock protection training and even asked to collaborate with the project. This reassured us that the topic of livestock protection is more important than ever and that the project stakeholders and even the general public greatly appreciate such events.

After the lunch break, the entire LIFEstockProtect team answered any remaining questions at the press conference. 55 journalists and interested parties were able to ask project and region-specific questions. This naturally led to a lot of press coverage. You can find the best articles in our news section here.

Did you miss the conference? You can watch the recording on our YouTube channel and download the speakers’ presentations and the questions and answers here:

Finally, participants also expressed their positive feedback on the event and how it was structured. It was confirmed that the efforts to provide simultaneous translation were worthwhile and that this will not be the last online conference that LIFEstockProtect will organize. Below we share with you the feedback we received:

“Congratulations on the webinar and the translation. I hope to be able to watch the next one.” Gloca C. (Portugal)

“Many thanks for the conference, it was very informative and very well run.” Marco S.

“Congratulations on the successful conference. It was good to see that it is technically possible to hold a face-to-face event in the same way as a video conference.” Michael G.

“Thank you for the exciting conference! Keep up the good work! Good luck!” Mirjam S.

“Thank you for the conference and the opportunity for all interested parties to attend in public. Even though not all questions could be answered due to the complexity of livestock protection, the insight was very informative. The moderation and the interpreter function were also very good. I would very much look forward to further activities of this kind. Kind regards from northern Germany and a wolf territory.” Anja F.

“Thank you for the interesting conference! I’m looking forward to more information from the project and to hearing about your experiences.” Marion E.

“Many thanks for the interesting morning! Compliments to the organization! I look forward to the next 5 years. Greetings from the Netherlands.” Andrea E.

“Good luck with your work – we hope to include some good results in Carnivore Damage Prevention News.” Robin R.

“Many thanks to all organizers and contributors!” Carol G.

“As a participant today, I would like to praise all the speakers and the organizers! Thank you!” Harald R.

“That was very exciting and interesting, thank you for sharing.” Jolanda T.