By Roelof Bezuidenhout

Problem animals – once referred to as vermin – make farming difficult. They kill livestock, trample your fields or damage your crops. Some losses are inevitable, but when the damage escalates you need to take action. If you do nothing, these animals can bankrupt you over time by, for example, reducing your lambing percentages year after year.

Problem animals range from elephants to porcupines, but in South Africa, livestock farmers are particularly troubled by black-backed jackals and caracals (often mistakenly called lynx). In the northern regions, leopards, cheetahs and brown hyenas are also blamed for livestock losses.

There are several other wildlife species that also prey on livestock, including baboons, Cape foxes and birds of prey. More recently, bushpigs and warthogs have become a concern. Birds can inflict significant damage on crops and fruit, for example, a large flock of blue cranes, which have legal protection in South Africa, can trample a lucerne field. These birds are not as scarce as some suggest.

None of this is new. The ancient Romans were said to have scattered the ashes of burnt wolves around their flocks to protect them from hungry packs. Managing or controlling problem animals is difficult, time-consuming and expensive – and when trapping or killing becomes necessary, it is deeply unpleasant. The issue is also highly contentious in a world that places great value on animal welfare.

Modern farmers have long been at odds with animal rights activists and even some ecologists, whose proposed solutions often fail in practice. One commonly suggested approach is conserving natural prey, but the more food available, the faster predator populations grow. For example, 30 dassies consume as much grazing as one sheep in a day.

Some farmers argue that animal rights activists focus only on the suffering, or perceived suffering, of predators while ignoring the pain endured by livestock that are hunted and killed or left horribly maimed.

In most livestock farming districts, black-backed jackal numbers have increased so dramatically that they are now affecting the national small-stock industry. Packs of jackals have even been known to prey on calves during birth. Their rising population is partly attributed to game reserves, where they breed and then escape onto farms. Perhaps it’s true that sheep and goats are easier to catch than game – or maybe the jackals have simply developed a taste for them.

Tackling The Challenge Of Problem Animals On Farms — This young goat was suffocated by a caracal, which left its characteristic teeth marks on the throat. Photo: Roelof Bezuidenhout

Strategies

Control measures are complex and depend on local conditions, so we won’t go into detail about them here. The basics start with secure fencing, either electrified or reinforced with stones along the base. Even so, fences are not foolproof, especially if they are not checked almost daily for holes made by burrowing animals like aardvark. Bushpigs and warthogs, in particular, are unfazed by fences.

If practical, adjusting the lambing season to avoid periods when predators need extra food for their young may help. However, sheep farmers typically require two lambing seasons per year, making this challenging.

Livestock guarding dogs, which work best when accompanied by a shepherd, do not always succeed. In Turkey, these dogs are fitted with spiked collars to protect them from wolves. Running donkeys or alpacas with the flock can offer some protection, but donkeys have been known to bite newborn lambs to death, and alpacas can carry diseases.

Poison kills indiscriminately and is illegal.

Farmers have learnt to constantly adjust their strategies, as all animals adapt their hunting and feeding habits to changing conditions. Carnivores must have meat to survive, so the best approach is to rotate control measures – switching periodically between calling and shooting, soft-catch trapping, caging, scent deterrents and protective collars.

Wild predators quickly learn to modify their hunting habits in response to new challenges. Their lives revolve around feeding, nesting, breeding and resting. Jackals, for example, adapt by attacking lambs from behind when protective collars prevent them from biting the throat. If sheep are kraaled at night, jackals shift to hunting during the day. Shooting from helicopters is only effective until the jackals recognise the threat.

Some predator hunters now ambush jackals at water points in the late afternoon, as the animals have learnt to ignore taped distress calls at night. Night shooters have also switched to thermal scopes instead of lights. It’s a constant battle of strategy and adaptation.

Caracals, on the other hand, are less cunning and relatively easy to trap – if you know how.

First identify the culprit

Before reaching for your gun, it is crucial to identify the actual culprit, as several wildlife species are wrongly accused of livestock predation. One example is the aardwolf, which may look fierce but has teeth too weak to kill anything.

Every predator species has its own particular hunting method and prey preference.

First, rule out domestic dogs. They chase sheep or goats erratically, bite indiscriminately, tear wool from fleeces, and often maul their victims without delivering a fatal bite.

Caracals eat only what they need for the day, typically feeding on the fleshy hindquarters. Jackals open the stomach and lungs before consuming the rest. Baboons will tear open a ewe’s womb to get to the foetus. Bushpigs devour the entire carcass. Cheetahs, being timid and fast feeders, go for the softer parts and quickly move away before stronger carnivores like hyenas steal their kill.

Farmers must adapt to survive

It’s not just predators that adapt to human actions – farmers must constantly adjust their strategies as well. Many sacrifice a good night’s sleep to watch over their flocks, even on bitterly cold winter nights, and continuously rethink their approach to protecting their livestock. Others delegate the task. One way or another, it’s a job that must be done to stay in business.

To learn more about ethical predator management, contact Predation Management South Africa (PMSA): https://pmfsa.co.za/contact/