Abstract

Successful coexistence between large carnivores and humans is conditional upon effective mitigation of the impact of these species on humans, such as through livestock depredation. It is therefore essential for conservation practitioners, carnivore managing authorities, or livestock owners to know the effectiveness of interventions intended to reduce livestock predation by large carnivores. We reviewed the scientific literature (1990-2016), searching for evidence of the effectiveness of interventions. We found experimental and quasi-experimental studies were rare within the field, and only 21 studies applied a case-control study design (3.7% of reviewed publications). We used a relative risk ratio to evaluate the studied interventions: changing livestock type, keeping livestock in enclosures, guarding or livestock guarding dogs, predator removal, using shock collars on carnivores, sterilizing carnivores, and using visual or auditory deterrents to frighten carnivores. Although there was a general lack of scientific evidence of the effectiveness of any of these interventions, some interventions reduced the risk of depredation whereas other interventions did not result in reduced depredation. We urge managers and stakeholders to move towards an evidence-based large carnivore management practice and researchers to conduct studies of intervention effectiveness with a randomized case-control design combined with systematic reviewing to evaluate the evidence.

Published in

Scientific Reports
2017, Volume: 7, article number: 2097
Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

SLU Authors

• Eklund, Ann

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Tourani, Mahdieh

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)

• Chapron, Guillaume

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Frank, Jens

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology


More information

Correction in Scientific Reports, 2018, Volume: 8, Article number: 5770. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23581-2


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02323-w

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/83657