Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique

Predation by wolves affects all livestock farming systems, including those having different batches of animals being simultaneously grazed in distinct and sometimes distant fenced pastures scattered over a landscape. In the absence of a responsible human herding and watching over his flock or herd,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Baptiste Potet, Charles-Henri Moulin, Michel Meuret
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Géographie Alpine 2021-06-01
Series:Revue de Géographie Alpine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rga/8789
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841546834603933696
author Baptiste Potet
Charles-Henri Moulin
Michel Meuret
author_facet Baptiste Potet
Charles-Henri Moulin
Michel Meuret
author_sort Baptiste Potet
collection DOAJ
description Predation by wolves affects all livestock farming systems, including those having different batches of animals being simultaneously grazed in distinct and sometimes distant fenced pastures scattered over a landscape. In the absence of a responsible human herding and watching over his flock or herd, livestock protection by the sole combination of fences and guard dogs is a new practice in France, that has not yet received much attention in public policy recommendations. We used several sources of knowledge, from the scientific literature to experiences of breeders interviewed in the Southern Alps, to analyse three issues to improve the effectiveness of the practice: the number of guard dogs required per batch of animals, the complementarity of dogs within their working group, and the land area to be protected by dogs. In each case, several dogs are necessary. Within their group, the guard dogs can play complementary roles and this optimizes protection. The rearrangement of dog groups during the year can cause difficulties. It may be appropriate sometimes to allow guard dogs to cross fences, so that they do not have to wait for wolves to jump or dig underneath. But in a densely populated and frequented country such as France, allowing protection by dogs on the periphery of fenced pastures faces a high risk of conflict with other land users. When grazing lands become risky areas for hikers or hunters confronted with guard dogs, the sustainability of outdoor livestock farming may be called into question.
format Article
id doaj-art-c2208a9d1b3242f1bb4f28b4473fc5e7
institution Kabale University
issn 0035-1121
1760-7426
language English
publishDate 2021-06-01
publisher Institut de Géographie Alpine
record_format Article
series Revue de Géographie Alpine
spelling doaj-art-c2208a9d1b3242f1bb4f28b4473fc5e72025-01-10T15:54:25ZengInstitut de Géographie AlpineRevue de Géographie Alpine0035-11211760-74262021-06-01109410.4000/rga.8789Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématiqueBaptiste PotetCharles-Henri MoulinMichel MeuretPredation by wolves affects all livestock farming systems, including those having different batches of animals being simultaneously grazed in distinct and sometimes distant fenced pastures scattered over a landscape. In the absence of a responsible human herding and watching over his flock or herd, livestock protection by the sole combination of fences and guard dogs is a new practice in France, that has not yet received much attention in public policy recommendations. We used several sources of knowledge, from the scientific literature to experiences of breeders interviewed in the Southern Alps, to analyse three issues to improve the effectiveness of the practice: the number of guard dogs required per batch of animals, the complementarity of dogs within their working group, and the land area to be protected by dogs. In each case, several dogs are necessary. Within their group, the guard dogs can play complementary roles and this optimizes protection. The rearrangement of dog groups during the year can cause difficulties. It may be appropriate sometimes to allow guard dogs to cross fences, so that they do not have to wait for wolves to jump or dig underneath. But in a densely populated and frequented country such as France, allowing protection by dogs on the periphery of fenced pastures faces a high risk of conflict with other land users. When grazing lands become risky areas for hikers or hunters confronted with guard dogs, the sustainability of outdoor livestock farming may be called into question.https://journals.openedition.org/rga/8789PredatorsPublic policyLivestock systemsLand multiple useTerritories
spellingShingle Baptiste Potet
Charles-Henri Moulin
Michel Meuret
Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
Revue de Géographie Alpine
Predators
Public policy
Livestock systems
Land multiple use
Territories
title Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
title_full Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
title_fullStr Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
title_full_unstemmed Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
title_short Des chiens pour protéger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clôturés : une pratique nouvelle et encore problématique
title_sort des chiens pour proteger contre les loups des brebis en parcs clotures une pratique nouvelle et encore problematique
topic Predators
Public policy
Livestock systems
Land multiple use
Territories
url https://journals.openedition.org/rga/8789
work_keys_str_mv AT baptistepotet deschienspourprotegercontrelesloupsdesbrebisenparcscloturesunepratiquenouvelleetencoreproblematique
AT charleshenrimoulin deschienspourprotegercontrelesloupsdesbrebisenparcscloturesunepratiquenouvelleetencoreproblematique
AT michelmeuret deschienspourprotegercontrelesloupsdesbrebisenparcscloturesunepratiquenouvelleetencoreproblematique