In Scotland... Dogs are trained to protect sheep from vultures
Amidst a flock of sheep grazing in a field in the Scottish Highlands, Luigi and Peaches watch the sky. These two dogs are learning to protect the sheep from the large eagles that prey on the lambs.
Johnny and Daisy Eames, who started the training program in Rothmoreches in northern Scotland, hope their project will allow farmers and vultures to co-exist while ranchers call on the authorities to kill vultures.
"The last thing we want is to kill the vultures," Daisy told AFP. "We have to find a solution that works for both parties."
Hunt to Extinction
Eagles were once part of the Scottish landscape, but were driven to extinction in the 19th century.
In 1975, as part of the country's reintroduction programme, the vultures were taken from Norway to the remote island of Rum in Scotland.
Other birds were reintroduced to other areas in the 1990s and in 2007 and 2012.
If the reintroduction of vultures is successful, it is not suitable for livestock keepers, as the birds attack lambs for food.
To solve the problem, Johnny was inspired by his experience with a cheetah conservation project in Namibia where Maremma-Abruza dogs were successfully used to keep cats away from livestock.
To train the two dogs, he attaches an eagle-like object to a drone and flies it over them.
Johnny and Daisy also allow an eagle to eat a carcass in front of the two dogs in a controlled environment.
"We want to show the two dogs that the eagle is a predator and that if there is one near the lambs, they should be scared away," Johnny explained.
devastating effect
For her part, Jenny Love, a sheep breeder on the west coast of Scotland, confirmed that the vultures had a devastating impact in the region.
"The vultures are not evil. They have no other food, so they prey on lambs, which are easy prey for them," she told AFP.
"But it takes a heavy toll on the livestock keepers. They are deprived of their source of livelihood. The public thinks these herders are the bad guys," she added.
Under the vultures management scheme, livestock keepers receive up to £5,000 (5,800 euros) a year in compensation for livestock lost to vultures.
However, the process of claiming compensation is costly and complicated and only partially compensates for the losses, according to Love.
She explained that a breeder lost lambs worth 30,000 pounds sterling (about 35,000 euros) in one season.
"I saw strong men collapse in tears in front of me because they did not know what to do," she added, expressing her skepticism about the ability of dogs to solve the problem.
According to her, it takes thousands of dogs to guard the sheep in the mountains, where lambs are almost completely lost to the vultures.
The solution, according to her, lies instead in a better, larger and easily obtainable compensation.
Source: websites